DARKSTAR - Mr. Majyk

DARKSTAR

​Mr. Majyk
self-released; 2019

3.7 out of 5

By Dan Weston

Christopher Sjokvist aka DARKSTAR is an artist from Florida who recently released Mr. Majyk. The album has an ambient rock feel with electronic elements that has this sort of ’80s vibe going on at times.

I was reading about the recording process and one thing I found interesting is that Sjokvist keeps his recording gear in his van so he can lay down ideas whenever he gets inspired. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of that before but that was how Mr. Majyk came to fruition.

The album gets going with “My Love Will Haunt You” which is pretty mellow. It’s a six-and-a-half minute song and for the most part the groove which was quite good and slowly changes as the song progresses. You will hear a lead synth and some other transitions but dynamically the song doesn't shift much.

The energy increases with “Fading Into Grey.” Sjokvist’s hall reverb-laced vocals are juxtaposed against an electronic beat and acoustic guitar chords. “Earth and Sky” does sound pretty cosmic and atmospheric as the title implies and “Mr. Majyk” embraces a fluctuating synth bass that drives the song.

“Shut Your Mouth” is a down tempo and dark track. It has some of the most inventive production on the album. “Rain” is an almost nine-plus-minute song that, like some of the other songs, doesn't change much dynamically.

“MONSTER” is the first overtly bluesy song while “Love Is A Flame” literally sounds like an electrifying song at times. “Stairs to Nowhere” is meditative and hypnotic. There is a bit of a David Bowie vibe here. “Brighter Shade of Black” sounds a bit like malfunctioning computers and robots squaring off.

My only slight issue was the length of the songs. I felt like there were a number of songs that have would have been more effective at three or four minutes. As I mentioned some of the songs didn’t change much dynamically and having the average length be around five or six minutes felt like a lot to take in.

​Overall, Mr. Majyk is a cohesive album that successfully melds different genres. Take a listen.

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