REVIEW | CRAYON – HOME SAFE

Label: Erased Tapes

By Toby Furlong

The Parisian-based producer, songwriter and visual artist/virtuoso, Crayon, has finally unveiled his long-awaited debut album ‘Home Safe’. An opening statement from Crayon that feels incredibly assured and manages to weave tender themes, such as memories of youth and familiarity of home into a deeply introspective release.

Central to the record is the question Crayon asked each collaborator: What does home mean to you? The answers echo through an impressive line up—anaiis, Rhye, ELIZA, Yamê, Arthur Teboul (Feu! Chatterton), JPL, and Lossapardo—each lending their voice to this deeply personal exploration.

Kicking the project off is title track ‘Home Safe’, a rich introduction that owes a lot of its charm to the guest vocals of Yamê and Tora. With a subdued bass groove and sparkling violin.

Listening to ‘Home Safe’, you notice that the whole project glides along with a warm, orchestral-meets-bedroom sound. ‘Procrastination’ is another track that’s memorability is tied to these wonderful little pauses in-between vocals that fill the space with lush symphonies.

Speaking about the creation of the song ‘Kill Your Idols”, the singer revealed:

“Kill Your Idols was originally just an instrumental I made with my old guitar and a looper/reverse pedal,” Crayon explains. “It sat in a shared folder with Lossa for a while, until he spontaneously sent back a version with his vocals pitched down. It’s one of the songs that stayed closest to its original form—which fits the title’s message: kill your idols, become who you are.”

‘Home Safe’ is full of home comforts, rooting itself to a soft sound, which can result in inclusions such as ‘&Fly‘ struggling to differentiate itself from other highlights. However, ‘Diamond Miner’ is noteworthy for its subtle funk leaning and exceptional guest vocals of Fkj and ELIZA. A diverse left-turn keeps ‘Home Safe’ moving in unexpected directions.

Approaching the end of the project now, arrives ‘Cristaux Liquides’ and ‘Arthur & Le Cristal‘, a wonderful double-salvo that seamlessly interlude across songs. The piano playing on the latter song is incredibly invocative, and is a highlight of the album for me.

Concluding the project is ‘Exposed’, which rather fittingly ends the project by doing what it says on the tin; purging the demons of the past. Home is a place of comfort, and its only from the safety of our bedroom that we can tackle the shadows of our past.

Crayon saves his most inward looking song until the last moment and ends his debut album in excellent fashion.

Despite it only being his debut release, Crayon has laid his stall out. ‘Home Safe’ offers a treasure trove of diverse instrumentation, excellently selected guest vocals and rich emotional themes.