Austria’s Velar Prana has continued a stream of single releases with the funkadelic “Don’t Rush.” With its glistening guitars and keys, this song is set to gain a lot of love from listeners of Jungle, DON WEST and Collect 200.
Neo-funk is at the center of “Don’t Rush” and it laces each beat from the beginning. A wobbly guitar held back by a tight drum machine kicks us off, with sparkly keys decorating the intro. Echoed synth stabs take most of the decorative space left by the guitars and drums. This heavily distanced instrumentation is soon joined by layered, whispered and tuned vocals, which is all Prana needs to finish off the overall groovy tone.
A subtle shift in distance can be heard in the second verse as effects are taken off the lead guitar to give the sense of it being closer to the listener. As the verse moves along, however, reverb is slowly faded back in. This change gives the song a variety that becomes lacking as the song progresses to its second half.
Another feature of funk music is the focus on melody over lyrics, and “Don’t Rush” certainly exemplifies this trait. The layered vocals counter the lead guitar melody with the lines “don’t rush / feel the crush” repeated. Accompanying such upbeat instrumentation, the lyrics’ devotion to good times feels right. It’s clear that Prana wants listeners to focus on the overall production rather than spend too much time on the lyrics.
“Don’t Rush” by Velar Prana highlights the producer’s continued desire to create warm, fuzzy music for listeners to dance to. Following the release of an EP last year, audiences will be excited to see what Prana has to deliver the rest of this year.
Follow Velar Prana: Spotify / Instagram / Soundcloud / TikTok
