Benjamin Quartz draws you into the storm by whispering through it. With “Frénésie,” the first single off his new album Sombre Samba, Quartz delivers a slow-burning, spine-tingling tune that simmers with tension yet stays grounded in acoustic elegance.
The guitar opens with a strummed pulse, steady as a heartbeat but with a faint tick underneath, like a clock counting down to something. Then comes his low, breathy voice, rich with restraint. It’s like he’s teasing, with each word hanging in the air just long enough to stir your curiosity.
The undercurrent with the strings softly swinging beneath the vocals like waves under a small boat, gentle but constant. And just when you think you’ve settled into its groove, in slips a Brazilian-flavored rhythm section with light tapping percussion pulsing alongside this monkey-like hum that bursts out with playful confidence. It’s subtle but infectiously catchy, and before you know it, your head’s nodding along, caught in the song’s slow spiral of emotional build-up.
“Frénésie” explodes and coils, while layered with precision. As Quartz sings, his voice thickens, stretching itself with more feeling, more ache, more depth.
Recorded at the Onde Source studio with a full acoustic band—violin, double bass, Brazilian percussion, and piano—Sombre Samba promises to be a handcrafted, analog gem. And “Frénésie” is the perfect, sensual, poetic lead-in, alive with urgency. Listen to it on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan