According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the definition of "chamber music" includes "compositions traditionally intended for performance in a private room or small concert hall and written for an instrumental ensemble, such as a trio or quartet, with one player for each part." "Chamber hip hop" (if there were such a thing) is a category that Broadway Project would almost certainly fall into. Intimate, warm, and comforting, The Vessel is one of those albums that makes one feel relief that there is still some life left in the "downtempo" (specifically instrumental hip hop) genre. Strings, piano, brushed drums, and the warm "white noise" of vinyl static are the most prominent sounds on the album, which has a very organic feel to it, much like Broadway Project's first record, Compassion. And like Compassion, there is an extremely understated beauty to the new album. One major difference, however, is the presence of vocals on almost every track.
I suppose it's unfair to call this an "instrumental hip hop" record, because it's really closer to soul, once the vocals are taken into account (although it's obvious that Broadway Project construct their tracks using vinyl samples and other found sounds).
"Sufi," the album's sixth track, features harpsichord, some extremely subtle brass, and a selection of Eastern-sounding stringed instruments. Another track, "Angel Heart," features male vocals, mostly acoustic guitar, and some Bacharachian string arrangements, although, oddly enough, the track works (in the same way that many of Alpha's tracks "work," despite the Seventies "easy listening" nature of their sound sources). Another track even features the violin motif from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade. Somehow it doesn't surprise me that this record was recorded in Bristol, although it is more akin to Alpha and Portishead than Massive Attack and Tricky. There's a difference between "intimate" and "claustrophobic," and The Vessel has none of the oppressive claustrophobia of the latter two artists, particularly Tricky. Sure, some of the tracks on The Vessel would be classified as "dark," 1. Beauty
2. I Believe in Superman
3. Coming Back
4. Beaten Dog
5. Darkling
6. Sufi
7. Unborn
8. Angel Heart
9. For the One
10. Manifesto (Stand Up)
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