By Deuce

Producer/musician/vocalist 1^st Base Runner finds himself in an enviable position as the year winds down. He’s still hot on the heels of his previous release, Seven Years of Silence, which hit all major platforms in mid-summer. He’s about to drop his forthcoming release, an Extended Player entitled Ellis, next Friday on December 10.

Most impressive of all, however, is the fact that the new EP will be distributed through Universal, one of the most powerful transnational sound recording conglomerates in the game, giving him access to a wide array of ears and eyes to peep this project and its music videos.

As the name implies for those in the know, Ellis is a collaboration effort 1^st Base Runner cooked up with fellow musician and longstanding friend Brian Ellis. The pair goes deep on this collection of songs, sometimes quite literally.

That’s certainly the case on “Man Overboard”, which is accompanied by a picturesque music video of the highest quality. It renders 1^st Base Runner in the depths of what looks to be one of the bluest bodies of waters on the planet, plunging into the deep end fully suited, complete with his tie flying wildly all over the place, as he sinks into the currents—his movement restricted by what appears to be a knee brace.

Not the most ideal of situations in real life, of course, but it makes for fascinating theater in a tune that eschews conventional pop sensibilities for more profound emotions. The track itself spends a decent amount of time devoid of drums, the synths decidedly warm and probing, while the bass throbs in time.

One of the former is terse and bouncy, functioning as the lead in moments, while the other has all the character of strings, including their prolonged appeal as the cut bobs along in motion to its sense of rhythm and panache.

“Flux” is a track that recently premiered and moves with good energy, courtesy of a lively drum pattern and another rendition of a pulsating bass line. The drums are one of the most vivacious elements of this number, although they’re rivaled in moments by the keys that push along with a pleasing melody.

This mixture provides the perfect backdrop for some truly cool vocals that have the tendency to reveal the truth in their poignancy. This fact is typical of the project as a whole and indicative of the caliber of music it contains. A music video will accompany another tune, “Near Me”, as well.