Welcome to In Tune with WBMB, a weekly column where a member of the station covers a new track from the underground. This week’s article is written by Alex Fernandez.
Whether the feeling was moody for you in the first “In Tune” or upbeat in the second, the hope is that you’re ready for another vibe shift this week!
This week, WBMB’s picking Anysia Kym and Tony Seltzer’s “Long4.” Kym and Seltzer are both part of one of the biggest New York City labels right now, 10k Projects. 10k Projects was founded by MIKE, currently one of the hottest NYC rappers, to act as a distributor for his music, eventually releasing music for his collaborators as well.
Some of the label’s early releases were from NYC rappers MIKE has collaborated with before, including King Carter, who’s a part of sLUms Collective with MIKE, in “Prayers Ain’t Enough” with Rago Foot, Camden Malik and LA-based Sideshow, “Farley.” 10k has expanded into other creative pursuits, including fashion collaborations, festivals and concerts — most recently its roster performing in collaboration with Pitchfork
Music Festival London on Nov. 6. 10k has been making waves in the underground scene with each new release taking on a new chapter in the label. Now, take two artists who’ve been on the label for a while, Kym and Seltzer. Kym was originally the drummer for NYC band Blair, releasing solo material on the side. After the band’s output quieted, Kym transitioned into a solo career, dropping her debut “Soliloquy” in 2022 on 10k.
Seltzer is a known name in the underground hip hop scene, releasing collab tapes with Key!, Wiki and WifiGawd. MIKE and Seltzer have dropped two collabs in the Pinball series, with “Pinball II” releasing this past May. In an interview with Pilot Magazine, Kym said MIKE showed her the work they were doing on “Pinball,” leading to her and Seltzer meeting.
Released on Sept. 12, “Purity” is a breezy listen at only 17 minutes long, yet the two artists bring the most out of each other in that short time. “Long4” does feel like the most developed track on the album, but it’s the only track on the album that’s over two minutes.
With Kym’s hushed, soothing vocals over Seltzer’s looming keys and crushing kicks, mysterious is a good word to describe it, maybe sounding like a recalled memory, especially coming from Kym’s lyrics in the second verse: “No one’s coming to your rescue/No way/ Time passed, time, time passed/ Time passed, you won’t get your time back.”
The beat blends in perfectly with Kym’s vocals, providing a quiet storm of glitchy drums and effects such as a fading echo with the drums around the 0:58 mark that’s subtle yet trippy, ending with the vocals coming back, even more glitched and a bit compressed.
If this sounds up your alley, check the rest of the record out; it’s full of lush alt R&B and glitch pop, and it’s only 17 minutes. It’s a good way to spend a short gap between classes.
