‘Euphoria EP’ is a diary of sweet serenade by Dillz

Motolani Alake 22:39 - 19 May 2022

From the tempo, to the backing vocals, choir and the piercing acoustics, which perfectly elevate a listener’s experience, this is what perfected music feels like.

If this review were written in Yoruba, Dillz would be described as ‘oloun iyo.’ In English, that literally translates to ‘one whose voice is filled with salt.’ Salt is a sweetener. So loosely, it would translate to someone with a sweet voice.

Something about Dillz’s voice is alluring, and it particularly conveys his intended message of a love high, forming ‘Euphoria.’ He sings like Olakira using Kizz Daniel's technique.

But it’s not the ‘Euphoria’ that forms the best moment on this project; it’s ‘Owo,’ which is one of the finest songs this writer has heard in 2022. From the tempo, to the backing vocals, choir and the piercing acoustics, which perfectly elevate a listener’s experience. This is what perfected music feels like - it elevates the experience. When the guitarist breaks into a solo strum, it feels like a money shot. What a song!

Dillz is a great storyteller. Perhaps not the most imaginative writer when he hones in on a topic. Maybe that’s his strength. Possibly, he feels a need to stick to his central theme of ‘Euphoria.’ So he writes his opening six songs to see life through the eyes of a smitten man, lovestruck and having some incredible sex with a lovely black woman.

There are only so many ways to appraise your complete weaknesses toward love and loving someone as a job. There are other sides to love. Even in mindless appraisal of love, you can still find diversity, which he didn’t quite find, barring ‘Owo.’ By the time you play ‘Euphoria’ and reach ‘Fotan,’ it feels like Dillz sings the same thing in different ways.

Optimists will, however, argue that the project is titled Euphoria EP for a reason. It’s not meant to be mixed or haphazard; it’s meant to sound like a mindless high. And that’s what Dillz was across this EP - he was high on love, and constantly serenaded his lover or documented the feeling of loving his love interest(s).

‘Euphoria EP’ is a diary of sweet serenade by Dillz

Nonetheless, ‘Euphoria EP’ excels in crisp production and excellence at post-production and A&R. You can just tell that A&Rs were in rooms where this EP was completed. And that’s a compliment that eludes a lot of Nigerian projects - even ones from big artists. From the guitar chords on ‘Lonely’ and ‘Owo’ to Sandra Amartey’s additional synth piano on ‘Heart Robber,’ effort went into this EP.

This writer particularly enjoys Dillz’s one-liners. From the hilarious picture-esque comic of “Eat your pastries, drink your baileys, this time I’m making you mine” on ‘Euphoria,” which is equal parts gangster romantic as it is authoritative, to the “My money na Yemi my lover” on ‘Owo,’ Dillz makes you listen to what he’s saying, in the faint hope that you might clock another one-line gem.

Across seven tracks, Dillz uses words, terms and phrases to describe the state of his love, affection, and emotion for the subject-woman. Sometimes, it took the way of sex as felt on certain lines on ‘Euphoria’ on which he sings, “You got home you laid on the sofa, my third leg dey do like soldier…”

Sometimes, he sings, “I want to shift your g-string, and rub your thighs…” because she is a ‘Delicacy.’ Other times, the woman is a ‘Heart Robber,’ to connote a reluctant, yet consuming affection, where a grown man feels weak and driven by pure emotion.

The EP also speaks to the different times in Contemporary Nigerian Pop. In 2014, ‘Lonely’ would have been Sean Tizzle-esque. In 2017, it would have been Simi-esque Folksy R&B. ‘Heart Robber’ feels very Speroach and Fresh VDM 2018. Somebody says, “daaaammnnn, it’s Speroach…”

‘Euphoria EP’ is a diary of sweet serenade by Dillz

Across the 7-track EP, Dillz selects an impressive range of contemporary-sounding beats that speak to the landscape of the time, albeit released during a festive period without Detty December. It would be interesting to see how the promo for this project goes.

Massive shoutout to Chinenye Lauretta for the impressive sound engineering across the project.