Vancouver based So Sus and South Africa’s Jon Casey are two artists whom we’ve had the pleasure of watching grow and evolve over the years. Each of their releases present something new and exciting for fans. Teaming up once again for their latest is ‘Growth’. The pair each reflected on their own personal journey. “I started growth during a period where I felt I had sonically found my sound actually around the same time as ‘Pantheon’ and ‘Gaijin.’ And you can hear similar elements shared with those songs and this one. I think that search for a sound is something me and many other producers are after and it feels like not only have I arrived, but I can get these ideas quickly. Sometimes it feels like I’m not the one doing it cause I honesty finish an idea and I am like ‘how did I do that?’ It’s a great feeling to be impressed and stoked by yourself. And that to me is a feeling I never had before,” So Sus tells us.
Jon shared a similar reflection around finding his sound, “As producers, we’re all most likely on that journey to find our ‘sound’, and it is a beautiful journey. I would describe it as liminal, never losing it but never truly finding the end result, and that’s beautiful because it leaves infinite room for growth. In this project I was experimenting with certain sounds, and some of the sounds I found along the way felt congruent with my own artistry and I’ve kept the essence of it with me ever since.”
Given the depth and importance of this release it should come as no shock that the two aren’t strangers. Having worked together on the Jadu Dala releases ‘Saria’ in 2017, their bond has only grown with time. From sharing WIPs, to memes and Instagram stories, their relationship blossomed to a full blown friendship. This is something that can be felt in the work as Jon explains, “I think it’s very important that producers collabing have a chemistry outside of the music as well. This just provides that ineffable energy behind the track even more, like, ‘damn, these two artists work so well together’. I think Tana and I have that. I think we conjoin similar but contrasting worlds, where he is very cinematic and energetic, I’m a bit more unapologetic and raw.”
Their styles are fused together perfectly on ‘Growth’. The enchanting opening feels epic, inviting and exotic. That energy is expanded into an impactful drop that combines cheery synths with tribal undertones and gritty samples. The intensity continues to ramp up after a short break where we’re taken into the heart of a dangerous and enthralling rainforest. A drawn out break resets the energy, calming listeners while an underlying bubbling is afoot. The final drop smashes together a new level of intensity for an epic finale. ‘Growth’ is an absolute adventure that’ll have you pressing play on repeat to relive it several times over.
As an added bonus, the two producer have opted to release the project file for their previous collab ‘Saria’. You can download it here.
