LIBERTY – Caroline Joy & Pakk Wong
★★★★☆
Building out of the New York City music scene, artists Caroline Joy and Pakk Wong join for a new collaborative track “LIBERTY.” Wong, a young musician and producer hailing from Bali, Indonesia, pulls inspiration from the likes of A$AP Rocky, Frank Ocean, and Kanye West, while Joy, a young Indonesian-American artist, feels drawn to the soft vocals of Laufey and Claudia Isaki. While the two have seemingly unrelated styles of musicality, Joy’s soft vocals layer over the Wong’s masterful production to achieve the perfect, alternative RnB track.
The track speaks of a spirituality not often found in this style of electronic RnB. Joy croons about trying to “find the light” in a place where truth is hard to find. She speaks to a higher power, asking them to “set [her] free” and “give [her] liberty.” The instrumentals follow this assention into the light, as Wong builds stuttering, glitchy synths into a swell that starts with a tinkling bell—a sound with spiritual associations to a god figures.
“LIBERTY” continues its journey with a discussion of disbelief and unsurety. Joy points to singing as an outlet to reach spirituality—asserting that singing is the way to find the liberty of God. The backing track continues to build with a unique electric guitar riff, and an electronic fade-out. This track is, undeniably, a labor of love and creativity.
For a song growing out of Joy’s bedroom, “LIBERTY” is a wonderful, soulful track. It combines the best of both artists’ styles, and it speaks to their artist messages: staying spiritual, true to themselves, and working towards greatness.