KETTAMA, Shady Nasty & Fred again.., Air Maxes | Song Review 🎵

KETTAMA, Shady Nasty, and Fred again.. shine on their engaging, minimalist, collaborative single, “Air Maxes.”

“They’re burnin’, can’t catch up to me, I need to be a doctor / Ayy, mental in this hire car / Close ‘em eyes, close ‘em eyes and let the driver speak.” Irish 🇮🇪 DJ/producer KETTAMA (Evan Campbell), Sydney-based 🇦🇺 band Shady Nasty, and UK 🇬🇧 DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Fred again.. collaborate on the intriguing single, “Air Maxes”. The minimalism and subtlety of the musical backdrop, produced by KETTAMA and Fred again.., are part of the charm. It’s striking without being the slightest bit ornate.

The vocals from Shady Nasty do the heavy lifting on the rhythmic, wordy sections of the song (the verses and refrain).  The first verse, excerpted above, sets the tone against the chill yet potent instrumental.  In the second verse, the Air Maxes are mentioned early (“Thankin’ them for Air Maxes and thankin’ them for skylines / Couldn’t be without them both”). Although the refrain is a bit unusual, it endears itself with successive listens. “Right foot like an anchor / I’m loaded up heavy / Could not thank you more for all these things I’m carryin’ to the graveyard…,” they sing, adding “Maybe I need a taser to my chest / But then I think about the rest, like.” The chorus is the least verbose and most melodic section: “Secrets, I don’t wanna have ‘em / Regrets, I don’t wanna have ‘em.” Ultimately, “Air Maxes” is an engaging, enjoyable, and striking record from these three talented musical acts.