“Ruminations” is the latest single by the duo An Alien Called Harmony, consisting of MettaShiba and Nadeem Din-Gabisi. The track is from their newly announced EP, which will be released on 15th March via New Soil.

Momoko Watanabe Gill, aka MettaShiba, is a composer, producer, songwriter and musician. This  London-based artist sings and plays a myriad of instruments, such as drums, keyboards and vibraphone. She has a mixed cultural background, evident from her quirky style of music. MettaShiba thrives in her alternative approaches to jazz, soul, traditional music and improvisation.

Poet, rapper, and visual artist Nadeem Din-Gabisi is also London-based. His work heavily portrays the black image of the African people. At the same time, through his art, he aims to transcend the boundary of contemporary art. For this very ambition, he received The London Fields Brewery bursary in 2018.

The song kicks off with a two-chord vamp over the background of birds chirping. Soon, MettaShiba joins in and hums an intro melody, which is later overlayed by two other voices. Soon, Nadeem enters as well, accompanied by percussion, playing a hemiola against the block chords on the piano.

Nadeem, being a musician as well as a poet, moves back and forth from singing the lines to “reciting” them in the verses. His laid-back singing, paired with drums playing a bit behind the beat, set up the overall “mood” of the song. Nadeem’s exquisite skill in juxtaposing words with immaculate cadence and rhyming, is at a full display in this track.

From the get go, “Ruminations” builds a dreamlike soundscape, which is further solidified by the inclusion of vibraphone in the mix of other sounds. For the entirety of this track, a listener would inadvertently feel as if they are sinking deep into their own world of imagination and playfulness.