Written by Francine Sundiang
The best music often has a transportative quality to it, able to bring you to moments in the past you may not have even been a part of. With Jopper Ril’s “Won’t Wait,” the listener is taken to distant memories of late karaoke nights and the height of R&B, disco, and Manila Sound in the ‘70s. It’s a track that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, but with enough attention given to songwriting and vocal performance to really make it stand out.
Everything starts slowly, with melodic piano and subtle guitar chords gradually building up in intensity before reaching a falsetto vocal and a classic pentatonic guitar solo. This change in trajectory keeps your attention and prevents the track from becoming stagnant, all while Jopper Ril manages to exude a sense of charisma and stage presence purely through audio.
These elements brought together create a track that would have been an instant classic had it been released at the same time as its influences. There’s nothing exactly new here, but there doesn’t need to be. After all, there’s no greater tribute to your influences than to show how their classic sounds still have a place in the present. Jopper Ril does exactly that; “Won’t Wait” is a homage to the greats, a time capsule to the height of a genre.
SUPPORT THE ART AND THE ARTIST: