abdulnour // PoserStyle
July 30, 2026
Best release of 2026. So far.
This project feels like a current representation of music, in terms of culture, in a way that I haven’t heard anyone do.
It makes you want to put your hands in the air, like you’re praising a god, and your feet are juking and stepping from the waist down. You seen Happy Feet? He would go crazy on this. Tappin and steppin. Not to be cliche, but there are certain aspects that are reminiscent of Aphex Twin: the ability to blend calm, lullaby-esque melodics with super high tempo drums. It all feels effortless, but you can tell that mass amounts of time and care went into these.
The melodies layered in back are soothing. On top are weirdly familiar vocal bits. Some are rhythmic, some are more just background chatter. There's something almost familial about these vocals, like the samples were a family heirloom.
The A side is more focused on this rap-adjacent vocal sampling. The acapellas are chosen thoughtfully and tastefully. Certain ones add that familiarity I mentioned, in contrast to the rather chaotic rhythms. We are in an era of remixes, but the music on this project goes so far beyond that. The sampled songs are more of an accent; the vocals are isolated, so it’s not so much a remix, but more like he is featuring the artists on the tracks.
The B-side goes more towards experimental electronic footwork. Vocal chops are still there, but they feel a bit more new-age. The two different sides feel like different times of day, night and morning, or different moods, looking back n looking towards the future. While, in terms of the number of elements, the B side is less complex, it feels more experimental. While the front uses a familiar soul-chopping style, the back is more intuitive, not so much derived from history.
Across the whole project, sound choice is precise and everything meshes. The drums hit like snap, crackle, pop without the crackle. They feel sharp and tight, abrupt, short and compressed. It’s like an ensemble of those 4th of July "pop-it" things you throw on the ground. Think of a uptempo rhythmic collage. Stutter, hesi, juke, firefeet. The drums are in a "footwork” style, or for those who are less aware, there’s aspects similar to that viral jersey club shit. Impossible not to bounce to. But don't get me wrong, associating this project with jersey club would be doing it a massive disservice.
A bunch of the songs switch rhythm divisions throughout; half time, double time. There's a sense of uncertainty, but that's what makes it good – you never know what's coming next. You can't think too hard listening to it, you just need to feel it. If you can do that, there is a certain state which I have not experienced in a while. An almost hedonistic bliss.
I reached out to abdulnour, and he told me that this project, as much as he wanted to specifically lean into footwork, was almost an acceptance of his current footwork articulation. Leaning into that discomfort that his output didn't sound like “true” footwork.
Now, I don't want to speak for him, but this is what I got from what he told me: some people are so deep in certain styles that comparing yourself to them when experimenting becomes a real problem – chasing a standard from a genre that isn't your own.
This project, for him, was deciding to just absolutely trust his intuition, go towards the footwork stuff but not neglect his gut instincts. In doing so, he made a project that not only properly articulates the footwork style, but stands on its own in terms of artistry.
To me, there’s a balance struck between cultural relevancy and his own intuition. I feel like we think of these as two separate things, but this project blurs the lines between them. It almost suggests that culture and someone’s psyche are dependent on each other – in today’s day and age, with the internet basically making up people’s personalities, it is hard to distinguish one from the other.
Mix wise, I can't think of a single critique. Boomy ass sub, fills the head but doesn’t take over the mix. You can feel the sub in your chest and shoulders more than you can hear it. Big low end, ear candy high-end. The mix is kinda scooped, as is the standard today, but it’s not overdone.
Across the entire double album, he balances track individuality with a consistent level of emotional impact. It’s a project in which no single track really stands alone as the "best". But, you almost want to say "that one was the best", after every single one.
The project is the best of the year so far. I wouldn't be surprised if it stays that way through until next year, or even further.
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