Even though Alberto Stangarone‘s musical output as Sunsplash is generally fun and joyous, he had never released something as conventional as this track before. “Boy” is the first single off his upcoming EP, titled 13, and it shows how incessant the Venezuelan producer is on his experiments with genres. Here, he recruited vocalist Pia Páez and Ferraz, one of the featured artists on our top five up-and-coming Venezuelan electronic producers list, and the result is a brand of R&B he had only hinted shyly on his debut full-length ≈fantasma≈ and on the Sub Rosa EP.
“Boy” finds Sunsplash on common ground with Ferraz’s recent work with Marti Ann, and farther away from his usual tropical bass sound, referencing elements from mainstream R&B–specifically the ’90s kind–and using repurposed synth stabs and patterns more representative of today’s EDM. The vocal melody in the chorus doesn’t particularly stick with you, but the production is spot-on, and the overall effect is lifting and remarkable.