Shell Robinson digs deep on ‘Run On Thoughts’ EP

After spending two years producing and fine-tuning her latest offering, Shell Robinson has now shared her most personal work to date. In delivering the five-song collection, she reveals how she challenged herself to develop MIDI, extend her percussion and vocal processing techniques, and share her most organic release to date.

Like I Do

Opening the Run On Thoughts EP is the aptly titled Like I Do. Shell Robinson wastes no time setting the energy and vibe with an array of synths, driving percussion, and airy vocals that welcome listeners into her headspace. Opening with the line, “He ain’t gonna love you like I do, I know it’s hard to trust cause you’ve been lied to,” Robinson wastes no time cutting to the emotional core of the project. The airy, reverberated element of the lyrics allows them to float around the listener, softly penetrating the psyche as the music provides the warmth and energy to push forward through such a state.

The Point of It Is

On the album’s second track, Robinson takes the listener even deeper, opening with a hypnotic rhythm, a mix of jungle and tropical influences, lulling the audience into a sense of serenity and calmness. The expanded sonic landscapes provide space to digest and live within oneself as the rhythms wash over the body, transforming any space into a serene escape from the noise of everyday life.

Don’t Let Go

Cited as the focal point of the whole EP, Shell Robinson describes Don’t Let Go as “that feeling when you want something to work out so badly it consumes you.” We have all been there, whether at work, athletics, love, or something else. That aching feeling of hope and desire to see something through and feel the effects of coming out successful. Following the peaceful energy of The Point of It Is, Robinson turns the tension back up, a strong reminder that no feeling lasts forever, and the energy can evolve as quickly as tracks change on an album.

Lasts Forever

For Lasts Forever, Robinson finds a deeper, more noir energy amongst the music. The percussion provides plenty of twists and turns without ever descending into chaos, but the subtle effects drift throughout, navigating a futuristic landscape before her voice cuts through over three and a half minutes into the track. She doesn’t have much to say, but that just makes the interruption all the more poignant. This is a deep dive through the human psyche, and thoughts and ideas do not always come through when one wants, or fully formed.

Run On Thoughts

Closing out the collection is the album’s title track. Immediately, the whistling elements offer a lighter energy than the last two pieces of music. No matter how painful or raw an emotion is, there is always hope at the end, and Shell Robinson clearly wants listeners to leave with that energy in their mind and heart. Run On Thoughts races forward throughout, winding past all of the emotions contained within one’s psyche, and while we can never fully outpace our racing thoughts, it is a strong reminder that we must always keep running towards the light.

Check out the beautiful new EP from Shell Robinson below: