In the heart of Minneapolis, United States, a city known for its vibrant underground art scene and history of musical innovation, emerges KB‑S, a solo producer whose work speaks volumes without saying a word. With no collaborators, no co-producers, and no vocals to lean on, KB‑S stands alone as a creative force, sculpting soundscapes that live at the intersection of emotion, texture, and subtle experimentation. Rooted in a blend of hip-hop, downtempo, and dreamy electronic textures, KB‑S doesn’t chase trends, instead, he builds immersive emotional worlds through sound. His journey is not one of flashy breakthrough moments or industry hype, but of quiet, patient evolution. Working from a modest home studio in Minneapolis, KB‑S has steadily honed his voice as a producer, one that is deeply introspective, emotionally fluid, and sonically distinctive. He approaches music less like a genre and more like a language of the soul, expressing what words cannot. With Altered States, KB‑S reaches a pivotal moment in that journey, delivering an album that doesn’t just reflect his growth but redefines it.
Released on July 25, 2025, Altered States is an emotional timestamp, a sonic dreamworld stitched together from raw feeling and surreal beauty. In this deeply personal and artfully produced project, KB‑S offers a hypnotic exploration of what it means to feel everything, too much, too fast, and all at once. Created in solitude but destined for connection, Altered States is a love letter written in lo-fi textures and shimmering synths, where each track captures a different emotional frequency, from infatuation and devotion to longing and delusion. Born from a time of intense connection and emotional intoxication, the album reflects that altered perception of reality when feelings take over, where the lines between truth and emotion begin to blur. Both vibrant and vulnerable, this album marks a turning point in KB‑S’s creative path, solidifying a more expressive, melodic, and emotionally resonant signature sound. It’s not a breakup record, and it’s not quite a love record either. It’s a soundtrack to the in-between, that suspended moment when reality bends under the weight of intense affection.
Altered State Album Track List:
Mesmerized:
Mesmerized, the introductory track to KB‑S’s Altered States album, opens the project with a spellbinding touch that sets the tone for the immersive sonic journey ahead. The moment the instrumental begins, listeners are gently pulled into a haze of cascading melodies layered delicately over a soft, lo-fi-inspired beat. There’s an enchanting synergy in how the ambient synth textures interact with the subtle rhythmic pulse, neither overpowering nor stagnant, but perfectly balanced to establish a mood that is both meditative and entrancing. Each element seems to serve the purpose of evoking emotional stillness, from the slow-evolving harmonic progressions to the sparse instrumental flourishes that creep in and out of the mix like fleeting thoughts. The sound design leans into a dreamlike quality, invoking imagery of floating or slow-motion drifting through space. The percussive elements remain understated, soft hi-hats, muted snares, and carefully controlled kick drums offer enough movement without disrupting the tranquility. In its minimalism, Mesmerized achieves something deeply immersive, showing how KB‑S prioritizes atmosphere over complexity, making this track feel like a gentle invitation to disconnect from the noise of the outside world.
What truly elevates Mesmerized is its emotional texture, it doesn’t just sound good, it feels purposeful. The mood is neither jubilant nor melancholic; instead, it sits in a contemplative in-between, much like the sensation of watching thoughts float by during deep introspection. This emotional ambiguity makes the track incredibly versatile, it could serve as a calming backdrop for late-night reflection, a sonic companion during creative work, or a grounding presence in moments of emotional turbulence. KB‑S’s decision to avoid abrupt transitions or intense climaxes ensures that the piece maintains its meditative flow from start to finish, making it almost therapeutic in nature. The title, Mesmerized, isn’t just metaphorical, it’s experiential. As the song fades, there’s a moment where silence feels foreign, as though you’ve just awoken from a gentle trance. It’s a testament to the producer’s ability to craft music that transcends traditional genre expectations and instead operates on an emotional wavelength. Within just a few minutes, Mesmerized communicates the core of Altered States, a sonic exploration of consciousness, perception, and the invisible layers of thought.
Hypnotized:
Hypnotized immediately deepens the sonic landscape of the album; Altered State by deploying thicker textures and a more entrancing rhythmic design. The track joins the instrumental ethos of Altered States, embedding itself firmly in the lo-fi hip-hop / ambient-rap hybrid style characteristic of KB‑S. The track first opens with synth-piano-like melodies creating a serene and refreshing atmosphere before opening up a new vibe, the beat is muted but pulsing, there’s a distinct swing in the kick-snare pattern that feels both mechanical and hypnotic. Over this, layers of ghostly vocal samples drift in and out, treated with reverb and delay to create a hazy, dislocated presence. Soft drones and filtered synth washes swell in the background, adopting subtle modulation and filter sweeps that mimic a trance-like breathing, gradually pulling the listener deeper into the track’s spell. Where percussion enters, it often emerges as distant clicks or whispered snaps, never intrusive, just enough to anchor the soundscape and propel the feeling of being gently lulled into focus.
What sets Hypnotized apart emotionally is its ability to straddle tension and calm within an evolving atmospheric framework. Rather than remaining static, the track introduces micro-shifts, fading chords rising in resonance, shuffled hi-hats emerging as hypnotic flickers, and low-end tones that softly throb like a heartbeat slowly syncing with your own. There are no dramatic transitions or climaxes, but instead a carefully controlled sense of movement, almost imperceptible yet compelling. It conveys a contemplative unease, an inward turn marked by subtle dissonance and melancholic echo. In the absence of melodic hooks, the track relies on texture and pacing, its very restraint becomes immersive. The title isn’t hyperbole; as the track loops and fades, you find yourself carried into a liminal state, where focus and dream intermingle. It’s minimalism as emotional architecture, a precise construct designed to shift mood through sonic suggestion rather than spectacle.
Zoned:
Zoned by KB-S unfolds with a refined precision that feels as though it’s carefully calibrated to place the listener in a space of pointed focus and encoded calm. The beat in this track strikes with great clarity. Featuring a sharper kick and full-bodied, subby bass that subtly drives the track without eclipsing its ambient core. Layers of airy synth pads hover above, meticulously shaped with gentle filter sweeps and resonance dips, creating a gauzy halo around the rhythmic pulse. The percussive elements are more pronounced than in prior tracks: clean snares and delicate hi‑hat syncopations interlock, offering a hypnotic rhythm that feels mechanical yet organic in its groove. Highly textural, the track deftly balances minimal melodic content with small tonal motifs, brief sine‑wave plucks or filtered chimes that flicker like passing thoughts, reinforcing the sensation of being zoned in, where peripheral noise drops away and sharp attention crystallizes.
Emotionally, Zoned occupies a different sonic territory from its predecessors, it’s less dreamlike and more perceptually grounded. The tonal palette is cooler; cold electronics and subdued mid-range tones evoke clarity rather than warmth, steering the listener into a state of concentrated awareness. There’s an implied tension in the restraint: loops feel tighter, transitions more deliberate, and every recurrence of a percussive figure or ambient swell serves as a waypoint in an inward journey. Unlike the ambient drift of Mesmerized or the dream‑fog of Hypnotized, this track feels intentional, measured in its unfolding and deliberate in its mood. The title Zoned becomes literal: you feel placed within a zone where mental chatter fades, focus sharpens, and subtlety becomes a conduit for immersion. It’s ambient music with an edge of minimalism as introspective architecture, a spatial meditation built from rhythm and texture rather than melody or crescendo.
Captivated:
Captivated by KB-S begins with a warm expanse of ambient textures, rich pads and soft chords that immediately signal a shift toward more emotive territory. The track first opens with a sense of calm, soft and freedom, with melodic lines hovering in the background and horn-like melodies blowing soft whispers in your ears. The beat enters gently, with brushed snares and mellow, cultured and jazz‑inflected rhythm emphasizing groove over urgency. The bass is deeper and more melodic here, weaving into the harmonic fabric rather than just holding low frequencies: it adds weight and movement, almost like a conversation with the ambient elements. Strategically placed brass hits or muffled horn stabs punctuate the mix, lending a sense of elegance and maturity to the soundscape. The melodic motifs are subtler this time, filtered electric piano chords or reverbed plucks drifting in and out, like glimpses of a melody caught in peripheral vision. Overall, the instrumentation feels layered and richly textured, without ever becoming cluttered, each element contributes more to emotional depth than technical complexity, and the production emphasizes spaciousness and breathing room.
In terms of emotional resonance, Captivated leaps beyond meditative calm toward a deeper affective engagement. The track stirs contemplative warmth: where prior songs felt like dream travel or focused trance, here there’s a gentle yearning, an undercurrent of emotional curiosity. Listeners may find themselves pulled gently into reflection: each chord progression seems to unfold with barely perceptible phrase tension before resolving softly, creating a sense of lingering introspection. Though entirely instrumental, the piece feels narrative: it progresses from mellow grounding through subtle harmonic shifts and brushes of ambient color, arriving at a space that feels open yet emotionally anchored. The title Captivated is apt, the music doesn’t just hold your attention, it evokes internal contemplation and calm fascination. In the context of Altered States, the track marks a conceptual high point, musically lush, emotionally textured, and expertly balanced between introspection and subtle melodic movement.
Altered States is a hazy, dreamlike voyage through love’s high and heartbreak’s echo, where soft textures, deep grooves, and emotion guide every step.
Altered States is a masterfully crafted emotional landscape, one that doesn’t scream for attention but instead whispers with haunting clarity, inviting listeners to dissolve into its lush, introspective world. Through his seamless blend of hip-hop rhythms, downtempo pacing, and ethereal electronic textures, KB‑S has created an album that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. It’s a journey through altered perception, where love, obsession, clarity, and confusion coexist in perfect sonic harmony. This isn’t music made for the background; it’s meant to be felt, absorbed, and experienced in solitude or in quiet companionship with your own thoughts. Whether you’re seeking a reflective soundtrack for late-night drives, moments of healing, deep focus, or emotional processing, Altered States offers a therapeutic, almost meditative experience that lingers well after the final note. Highly recommended for fans of ambient hip-hop, lo-fi electronica, or anyone navigating the complexity of human feeling, this album is not just a listen, it’s a state of mind.
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