Albums

Chiiild Expands His Sound with Debut Album, ‘Hope For Sale’

blame it on Shake July 23, 2021

Oh yeah, we’ve been waiting for this one!

After teasing us with his Synthetic Soul EP last year, Chiiild – the magnificent Montreal-bred, LA-based studio wiz Yoni Ayal (with help from his partner, Pierre-Luc Rioux) – have stretched his psychedelic R&B sound to fill a wide canvas with the release of their debut full-length album, Hope For Sale.

“Musically, it’s about chasing a certain feeling that you had when growing up,” Ayal tells Apple Music. “I didn’t realize how much nostalgia was a part of my palette. I wanted this record to reflect this moment. If you listen to this record and remember this time, I feel like I’ve done my job. And when I listen to this record in 10 years, I’m going to remember this moment and it’s going to be a special experience for myself. And I hope it is for everyone else.”

A hallucinatory blur of disco, funk, and pop that owes as much to Pink Floyd as D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, the album arrives at 11 songs – including the previously-released singles: “Sleepwalking,” “Eventually,” “Gone” and “Awake” with Mahalia (all of which landed on our Weekly Dope playlist) – and an additional contribution from Jensen McRae.

After my first listen, two of my favorite tracks are “Weightless” and “Lotus,” but I’m sure you can find your own. Out now via Avant Garden Records (shouts to my guy, Azad!), Hope For Sale can be heard below. Press play and be sure to add the album wherever you get music.