People who never listened to R&B in the 80s and 90s don’t really understand good baby making music. Hell, ask your parents what song you were conceived with; I bet it was a JAMMM from Luther Vandross, Keith Sweat, or maybe even R. Kelly (and I mean good R. Kelly, not that ‘Trapped n the Closet’ crap). But thankfully, Lido & Santell just introduced us to some classic between-the-sheets music unlike anything dance music (or music in general) has ever seen in recent years. I urge all of you to proceed with caution if you haven’t heard The Passion Project EP yet. As the sun starts to set a little early and temperature slowly drop, conditions are right for this EP to produce some little rave babies just in time for festival season 2016.
We already knew Lido was a certified crooner, but Santell takes the reigns with flawless falsetto lilts throughout every track. It’s hard to keep a straight face with a track as absurd as “Ashley,” the opening track about falling in love with the bottle service waitress, but I’m so distracted by how well the song is produced that I forgive the lyrics “I wanna tip her even though she’s not a stripper.” Thankfully that’s the only time you have to give Lido & Santell a pass, because “Pillows” is as sensual as one might assume a track with that name might be. Even better, The Passion Project EP treats itself like a true R&B album might with both an interlude (“WTFIMP”) and hymnal outro “Saved By You.” In just 5 tracks (“Your Lady’s a Hoe” rounds out the list), Lido & Santell deliver a fully enjoyable selection of tracks ranging from slightly comical to downright R-Rated. It’s hard to believe that Lido is Norweigan the way he’s mastered American R&B, but that just goes to show you how universally wonderful music can be.
It goes without saying, but you must listen to The Passion Project EP and pick up a copy out now on Mad Decent. 
