There are few musicians as talented around these parts than David Chapman, aka Crisis Talks, aka his newest musical project UZU, pronounced presumably, UZU, or maybe oozoo. So when I received a few tracks from him a few weeks ago, my ears pricked. And then I forgot about it, probably loaded the dishwasher or something and all of a sudden, a single Breath was released, soon followed by an eight track EP, ICHI, which I don’t know how to pronounce, or if it’s perhaps an acronym.
But it is the single I’m here to talk about, because this is now a singles only blog, in case you didn’t know. “But what if couples want to read it?” my girlfriend Chels deadpanned. It’s a good joke!
As always with Chapman compositions, there’s an edge and an air of moody anticipation and Breath follows this trend in both the musical and lyrical content. Darkness is clearly always an underlying topic for the Newport artist, but he just does it so well. The intensity feels so undeniably real and palpable, which gets even more noticeable with headphones on, the best way to get the most out of this electro doom goth-core, a new genre I’ve just coined. Although it probably already exists, because nothing is truly original here in 2025.
ICHI is a self produced EP, further underlining Chapman’s talents and capabilities in the control room as well as writing and singing (and what a voice he has). With home production setups available to pretty much anyone, self production is become all the more common and accessible. Doesn’t mean it’s easy though, still need to know what you’re doing!
You can watch UZU perform Breath and other tracks from ICHI at the launch night at Arcadia Coffee House on November 8 (this Saturday). It is free entry and the perfect venue for UZU to debut these tracks live with their moody, gothic décor.
‘Breath’ is out now on all of the usual streaming platforms, as is the 8 track EP ICHI, give it a listen!
Spotify
Gavin Facey – 03/11/2025
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