Swiss singer/rapper and film producer Varnish La Piscine is making noise worldwide with his impressive new album, This Lake is Successful.

Piscine cites Pharrell Williams and Tyler, The Creator as two of his biggest inspirations, along with Stereolab and Les Baxter. One song which undeniably shows Williams’ influence on his work is “Quartz Freestyle.” 

It has hard but melodic 808s, snappy snares, and random vox samples similar to Williams’ latest sounds. Piscine’s harder hip-hop tracks typically fall flat, but he and the featured artist, Snubnose Frankenstein, work well together and rap over the beat with ease.

Another great guest rap performance comes from frequent collaborator Rico TK on “Ring Island.” Rico’s few lyrics add a lot to the song, texturally.

Piscine sets the album’s tone with “Nubian Farlow” and ends with “Bye Bye Forever”– two smooth rap songs in their own way.

 “Nubian Farlow” is one of the songs that is most reminiscent of Tyler, The Creator’s sound. It has a swing beat paired with hard bass, followed by arguably the best bridge on the album. “Bye Bye Forever” has Piscine’s signature samba sound and autotuned vocals. Its outro takes the cake, wrapping up the project on a great note.

“Shopping, Amaury LeFevre” will likely be a sleeper track because of its straightforward, mellow sound, but it’s one of the more focused tracks.

Some people may be reluctant to listen to Piscine’s music because it’s in a different language, though the language barrier poses no real issue. His works are so impressive that translation is not needed. The flows, singing, and production speak for themselves.