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Once in awhile a sports athlete comes along that is so talented they go right from high school straight into the professionals - This phenomena has just happened in the world of music.
On 'Signs of Heartbreak,' the introductory album by new "whiz kid" Chris Mugs, you're able to finally get a sense of what direction music should be heading.
It doesn't take long for Chris Mugs to win you over. With unconventional hip-hop beats and R&B overtures, Chris is able to intrigue your various musical "taste" on any and all levels.
By benchmarking and then extending past various musical genres, Chris is able transcend into an entire new era of music.
On tracks like "Be a Star," Chris shows off his musical inclination by experimenting with various instruments and sounds. By telling an engrossing story, you almost have to listen to the track two times to get not only the lyrically version but also the production one.
Instead of adopting one particular style, Chris let's his own creativity dictate exactly where each song is going to go. Although his identifiable fingerprints are evident on any track his hand touches, each song goes into a different place then the previous one.
Chris experiments with a techno/rock vibe in tracks like "Harder," by incorporating hip/hop beats to provide the perfect blend of music and originality.
By the time you get to tracks "Star Light Paradise" and "U Fool," you realize that Chris may have tricked you. His effortless approach to how well he "mixes and matches" on these songs almost brings you to the harsh realization that though this may be his first studio release, he has been doing this long before your recognition of him.
Just when you think he's already demonstrated his talent and earned the musically creditability, Chris takes you on a soul searching journey on "Lose something," an old school vibe track that you can almost assure somewhere out there, Donny Hathaway is listening, rocking his head back and forth.
Chris Mugs in essence becomes that "new" sound in which all artist have been searching, radio is in desperately need of, and everyone else has been waiting for.
The only directions this young guy can go are either down or sideways because it might be hard to top the top-notch production value of this seemingly already "classic" album.
~Todd Dale - Todd Dale
Discography
(2006) Chris Mugs: Signs of Heartbreak
(2007) Brad Scott & Chris Mugs: The New Era (EP)
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Bio
Chris Mugs is a producer/songwriter/artist from Woodbridge, Virginia. While in high school, he was a part of a rap group called Las Stand (Las stands for lyrical assault squad, but is not punctuated). While in the group, Mugs handled the majority or the production and was mostly confined to writing hooks and catchy one/two liners. Following their tenure in high school, the members went their separate ways leaving Mugs out in the world to find a new niche. While in college, he began writing pop and rhythm and blues songs. Before long, Chris had completed his first solo album, Signs of Heartbreak (2006). During the process of recording Signs, Chris Mugs met singer/songwriter Brad Scott. Scott and Mugs teamed up and began writing songs together; the end result is their 2007 release The New Era (EP).
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