JayRyme & Hyh Volume – Skank Pan Repeat – Review

May 15, 2024

JayRyme and Hyh Volume: Skank Pan Repeat Single Review by Mr Topple for Pauzeradio.com.

German producer Sechs9Studios has arrived with his first official release – teaming up with well-established Anotha One Productions across a cut that perfectly blurs genres ready for summer 2024.

Skank Pan Repeat sees Jamaican artists JayRyme and Hyh Volume lend their talents to Sechs9Studios, who also did the mixing and mastering. It’s a hybrid cut that fuses genres together – as well as some solid instrumental work from Robert Wheeler on the drums and Christopher David Sumner on guitar.

On a first listen, you’d be forgiven for thinking Skank Pan Repeat was a Hip Hop cut. The driving drum line is dominated by an ominous kick that pushes the track forward, using double time rhythms at points, while the snare is forthright and the hi-hats wind in and out in between all this. Cymbals then top all this off – crashing at the end of certain bars. The bass also fits with the genre, having a majority one-note line that is simply elongated across each bar, to rein in the drums and bring fluidity to the track.

However, scratch the surface and there are obvious elements of Reggae also present. The ‘skank’ of the title is present across one of the guitar lines, but with a half-time arrangement. At points throughout, regal horns come in with some well-arranged and pleasing riffs that are highly reminiscent of Reggae. A secondary guitar line lilts melodically, giving the feeling of Jamaican summer.

There’s then the use of additional percussion – including an omnipresent shaker – plus a lone synth horn line that runs a stuttering rhythm throughout. However, the lack of a bubble rhythm – the staple sounds of Reggae – ensures that the genre is a secondary feature in Skank Pan Repeat – leaving the track a Hip Hop cut, albeit leaning into the Revival Reggae sound that has been so dominant in the past decade.

The final mix and master from Sechs9Studios is also clean and efficient – honing in on the bass and the drums to give the track that Hip Hop feel, while cleverly bringing some Reggae elements to the fore, like the horns, to ensure the listener knows where the track’s roots lie.

JayRyme and Hyh Volume give solid and forthright performances – although both of them also make good use of dynamics to bring light and shade to proceedings. Here again, the emphasis is on Reggae, with both their singjays using intricate rhythmic patterns – as well as on occasion something nearer the straight vocal. Their voices complement each other well – and it’s a good choice of pairing for the track.

Overall, Skank Pan Repeat is a solid piece of work and a welcome introduction to Sechs9Studios skills. It’s infectious after a few listens, JayRyme and Hyh Volume give engaging performances, and the whole thing works well.