{"id":839,"date":"2020-05-27T08:44:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T13:44:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=839"},"modified":"2021-06-24T17:09:33","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T22:09:33","slug":"review-hifilos-speak-your-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-hifilos-speak-your-name\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: HiFiLo&#8217;s &#8216;Speak Your Name&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>During the last few years, many young musicians have approached improvisation not only in the traditional method \u2013 as instrumentalists \u2013 but also as producers who create beats and use synthesizers to convey their voices. Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and several British acts such as Alfa Mist and Tom Misch are among the artists who have prominently and successfully fused hip-hop and soul production with the spirit of jazz. <em>Speak Your Name<\/em> (self-released, 2020), the debut by Canadian keyboardist and producer Todd Pentney under the stage name HiFiLo, adopts these techniques to produce a work that is innovative, purposeful, and well-made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The album flirts with the concept of nostalgia as it travels and reminisces through music come and gone. It explores a wide breadth of classic 20th and 21st-century recordings. Kraftwerk, \u201860s pop, new wave, Brian Eno, and the unaccompanied piano performances of Keith Jarrett all find a home. This generates an immense range of soundscapes. Almost entirely recorded with piano, drum machines, and synthesizers, particularly older ones, it has a unique tone. Compared to other solo keyboard or ambient records, HiFiLo utilizes a historic and diverse combination of timbres and styles. Despite this, <em>Speak Your Name<\/em> remains coherent and unified, not merely reflecting upon the past but also looking forward.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_QQmXb6sobyk\"><div id=\"lyte_QQmXb6sobyk\" data-src=\"\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/QQmXb6sobyk\/hqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/QQmXb6sobyk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/QQmXb6sobyk\/0.jpg?resize=420%2C295&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"YouTube video thumbnail\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><br \/>Watch this video on YouTube<\/a><\/noscript><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px;\"><\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Mellotron-esque patches and light, relaxed synth pads wash over the listener on \u201cPink Elephants\u201d and the title track. Tasteful and minimalist rhythms keep the music moving. At times the sonic blend seems akin to Jon Hassell; sounds shift in and out as needed, painting a fuzzy portrait of a world in flux around the listener, invigorating them and relaxing them in equal measure. This resemblance to Hassell is readily evident where his production interacts with flautist Rob Christian on \u201cWanderlust\u201d as harmonized and delayed flutes sit across a tasty pop drum groove. It is one of the best songs on the record.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, on \u201cRebirth\u201d and \u201cEmanation\u201d, sampled vocals, pads, percussion, and distorted analog synths blend together in a wonderful sonic mix, no one part distracting from the whole. The album embraces atmosphere, volume, and silence. The compositions are rarely cluttered with too much activity, and the simplicity fits them well. The music is also funky, absorbing elements of \u201880s pop, new wave, and R&amp;B. This is particularly apparent in the drum programming, which contrasts intriguingly with the album\u2019s other influences. Each element of any given piece sits in the pocket; despite the chill tone of the record, it rarely loses its excitement. \u201cFTL\u201d embraces funkiness with bright chords complementing danceable, syncopated drums and a synthesizer solo which would not be out of place for the Robert Glasper Experiment. However, HiFiLo is seldom upbeat. Other than \u201cFTL\u201d, : most songs take on a darker tone. One hopes this will be adjusted on future releases, as a lighter sound certainly deserves to appear more frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><em>Speak Your Name<\/em> <\/em>showcases a sophisticated and novel sound that has a great capacity to engage listeners. Simultaneously a meditation on the past and a statement about the future, it is a strong introduction to an artist with great potential for creating music that is new, creative, and, above all, meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hifilo.com\/\"><strong>Speak Your Name will be released on June 12, 2020. More information can be found on HiFiLo&#8217;s website.<\/strong><\/a><\/em><br><br><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3i4wXbX\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\">Or, if you would like to both purchase the album and help our site offset its operating costs, you can buy it from our Amazon affiliate store.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tracklist: 1. Pink Elephants; 2. Wanderlust; 3. Speak Your Name; 4. Downpour; 5. The Collective Perspective; 6. Rebirth; 7. Emanation; 8. FTL; 9. Gradients; 10. Tangerines<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personnel:  HiFiLo (keyboards, synthesizers, production), Rob Christian (flutes (2)), Alex Samaras (voice\/lyrics (3)), Robb Cappelletto (guitar (4)). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the last few years, many young musicians have approached improvisation not only in the traditional method \u2013 as instrumentalists \u2013 but also as producers who create beats and use synthesizers to convey their voices. Flying Lotus, Thundercat, and several British acts such as Alfa Mist and Tom Misch are among the artists who have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"iawp_total_views":11,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[553,549,551,552,554,550],"class_list":["post-839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-alex-samaras","tag-hifilo","tag-orange-grove-publicity","tag-rob-christian","tag-robb-cappelletto","tag-todd-pentney"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/hifilo.png?fit=3815%2C2905&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peRkRR-dx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11508,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-for-living-lovers-natural-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":839,"position":0},"title":"Review: For Living Lovers\u2019 \u2018Natural Name\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"November 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Natural Name (Sunnyside, 2025) is the second album by For Living Lovers, the acoustic duo of guitarist Brandon Ross and bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi. Ross has appeared in so many contexts - electric, free, and as a leader and sideman - that sometimes his versatility on acoustic instruments becomes lost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_2422.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_2422.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_2422.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/img_2422.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11338,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-staff-sounding-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":839,"position":1},"title":"Review: Carmen Staaf\u2019s \u2018Sounding Line\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"September 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Carmen Staaf\u2019s Sounding Line (Sunnyside, 2025) is the second album recently covered on this site that envisions a conversation between Thelonious Monk and another pianist-composer. Just a few weeks ago, trumpeter Josh Lawrence positioned Chopin with Monk. Here, Staff has Monk conversing with a contemporary, Mary Lou Williams. Just about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Album Reviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Album Reviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1684.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1684.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1684.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/img_1684.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11298,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-cinnamon-flower-rouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":839,"position":2},"title":"Review: Charlie Rouse\u2019s \u2018Cinnamon Flower: The Expanded Edition\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"September 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the year that some of us learned that tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse was a leader of other bands rather than simply a member of Thelonious Monk\u2019s quartet. 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While all releases to date adopt a general ethos of giving maximum freedom to its participants, an ad hoc collection of those from the host city, prior output has primarily emphasized a particular native subsect of music.\u00a0The Philadelphia Experiment\u00a0(Ropeadope,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Interviews&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a4176533136_101.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a4176533136_101.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a4176533136_101.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a4176533136_101.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/a4176533136_101.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7350,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/best-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":839,"position":4},"title":"PostGenre&#8217;s Best of 2023","author":"PostGenre Writing Staff","date":"December 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Below are the albums we collectively felt were the best of 2023 (technically from Thanksgiving 2022 to Thanksgiving 2023). Ties are ordered alphabetically by the leader\u2019s last name. Following the list are honorable mentions; recordings multiple members of our small group thought worthy of merit but did not make the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Best of Lists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Best of Lists","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/category\/lists-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/original-4AA5FD17-5CE0-4D46-9496-99CA70683F50.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/original-4AA5FD17-5CE0-4D46-9496-99CA70683F50.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/original-4AA5FD17-5CE0-4D46-9496-99CA70683F50.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/original-4AA5FD17-5CE0-4D46-9496-99CA70683F50.jpeg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11110,"url":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/review-irabagon-someone-to-someone\/","url_meta":{"origin":839,"position":5},"title":"Review: Jon Irabagon PlainsPeek\u2019s \u2018Someone to Someone\u2019","author":"Jim Hynes","date":"August 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Fresh off his complex project Server Farm (Irrabagast, 2025), where he led a nonet in blending electronics and hues of Artificial Intelligence with acoustic jazz, Jon Iragabon now moves to a more conventional chord-less quartet on Someone to Someone (Irrabagast, 2025). 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