At the end of last year, we featured Kazu Osumi for sharing a philosophical and nostalgic song to leave behind for her loved ones, Times of Love, so when we heard that the artist was back with Chariots, we were curious to say the least, and couldn’t wait to listen and share our experience.
Chariots opens with an emotive and cinematic strings and synthscape with textured trip-hop drums and bold bass as Kazu shares metaphorical, introspective prose with dark wave guitar tendencies. We appreciate the moody and poetic energy that manifests. In essence, the song is about the turbulent political climate surrounding ICE operations in the United States, whilst exploring much wider themes of cruelty, racism, belonging, power and the erosion of ideals that Kazu says she grew up believing in.
The message is super zeitgeist and important and an expression of how so many of us feel, but delivered with grace and a high emotional quotient with the conviction of fighting for a better future.
The tempo change for the final chorus and the melancholic strings finale with delayed keys are genius touches and leave us on the verge of tears. We appreciate how the production mirrors the psychological tension of the song. It is almost hallucinatory. If we had a song of the week, this would be it.
There is no doubt that Chariots has enormous cinematic potential. We could imagine the dark trip-hop atmosphere working within the sophisticated espionage universe of James Bond, or perhaps The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Bourne Identity, Sicario or V for Vendetta.
On the television side, Buffy the Vampire Slayer could absolutely accommodate the darker energy with a performance from Kazu Osumi at The Bronze (it actually really reminds us of a song by Angie Hart called Blue, which was featured in the show) whilst Black Mirror, Killing Eve and The Handmaid’s Tale also feel like natural visual worlds for such an atmospheric composition.
We also appreciate the personal history informing the release. Kazu was born and raised in California within a family of Vietnamese immigrants and refugees from the Vietnam War, and she speaks candidly about wrestling with the complicated feeling of being born somewhere she considers home whilst knowing that others may still perceive her as an outsider.
Overall, the track feels cathartic but also important and zeitgeist for the current landscape. We love the production choices and the raw authenticity that transmutes, and have added Chariots to our New Music Spotlight playlist and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of Kazu Osumi, including Fallen Stars, and Times of Love.