Digging a Tunnel
sir Was’ debut full length, Digging A Tunnel, is an album that constantly bucks trends and confounds expectations. Boasting a continually evolving sound that remains nonetheless unified, it comes as close as any record can to defying description. It boasts, an effortless flow, reflected in Wästberg’s vocal delivery, which shifts from falsetto to a groove-like spoken word which circles round the beat rather than landing on it. It is, in short, brilliantly restless and boldly alive. “Blending Tame Impala-reminiscent vocals like a beam of light with playful yet melancholy electronic production” STEREOGUM “Joel Wästberg's sir Was project is the meeting point between jazz, old school hip hop, and electronica; the Swede blurs boundaries in the most insouciant of fashions, (…) refreshing and reassuring.” LINE OF BEST FIT „The Gothenburg producer's debut EP wanders through new worlds and takes stock of the beauty around it.“ NOISEY
Considering Digging a Tunnel's persistently chilled vibe, it's somewhat surprising to read sir Was (aka Joel Wästberg) describe it as an "existential dread-filled debut."
Previously a professional jazz saxophonist, sir Was' globe-spanning influences have helped shape the sonic landscape of debut Digging A Tunnel.
sir Was — Gotherburg’s Joel Wästberg — started out as a saxophonist listening to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane, and the freedom
Swedish multi-instrumentalist Joel Wastburg releases his first album under the name sir Was - it boasts plenty of catchy hooks.