Shigeto traverses the unsteady ground of Detroit’s bustling nightlife

After leaving Detroit, Michigan for the bright lights of Brooklyn, Zach Saginaw - aka Shigeto -returned home after four years to create The New Monday. An album steeped in the past but with a firm eye on the future, The New Monday is inspired by the community of musicians Saginaw met throughout Detroit’s flourishing music scene.

The album opens with “Detroit Part II”, a low-key roller that dusts off a series of rambling jazz hooks, brushed delicately over several layers of scattered rhythm - the perfect introduction to America’s Motor City.

The sublime introduction soon bleeds into the alternative hip hop bounce of “Barry White”, featuring Bruiser Brigade affiliate ZeelooperZ. The late-night swing soon disintegrates with a small dose of acid-tinged squelch that loosens your ears for the tight, rhythmic work-out of “Ice Breaker”.

Shigeto’s spacious, jazz-infected production remains a recurring theme throughout this record, but it is obvious that the new sounds and friends he has been exposed to during the making of this album have had a profound effect - helping him to dip his toes into the murky worlds of trap, techno and drum’n’bass.

The dark, trap-fuelled sound of “A2D” follows the genre’s blueprint perfectly, but unfortunately fails to bring anything new to the table. Good trap beats are heightened by great rappers, it’s a shame then that guest MC Silas Green just isn’t up to the task – his monotonous flow only serving to expose the unoriginality of the song.

It’s great to see a musician push themselves outside of their comfort zone, taking in new inspiration, but it can be extremely hard to cram all these conflicting influences into one fluid piece of art.

The New Monday would be a great record to put on whilst cruising around Detroit in the dead of night, the only thing holding back this album is that Shigeto sometimes takes his hands off the wheel.