Track listing: Without Me, Don't Think About It Anymore, Love, Quiet Smiles, Blue Sky, Mercy, Look Me In The Eyes

As I sat down with Twell Regor's latest release I Asked Her, my first thought was "What is this?" The album has a smooth, velvety vibe of some chill EDM/R&B hybrid. Then I allowed myself to stop worrying so much about the scientifically defined sub-genre and began just appreciating the sounds emanating from my speakers. Whereas there's a vocal with the mystical allure of Meshell Ndegeocello's debut, the album as a whole is not focused on rhythm and arrangements. Instead, it's really more a tone-setting album. One for nighttime in the city, or high up in a remote mountain getaway. An escape, whatever that may mean within your own realm.

Regor is self-described as "an interdisciplinary artist, writer, composer, and conceptual designer whose work explores the structure of human experience through music, philosophy, fashion, film, and symbolic systems." Yes, precisely. "His projects fuse orchestral composition, experimental R&B, industrial sound design, political symbolism, and philosophical narrative into unified aesthetic systems that feel both cinematic and mythic." Exactly. There's a lot going on, but I Asked Her is also an emotional escape from your day-to-day routine. It's ethereal beauty, allure, complexity as it exists in the absence of stress and obligation.

Each of the album's 7 tracks runs from just under 1 minute to just over 2. In total, we're listening to just over 13 minutes of music. This isn't at all a roadtrip playlist. But it absolutely is a record that creates space among the rest of your playlist. Turn off the Top 40 Station. No AOR needed here. Classic Rock, Soul, and R&B has its place, which is not where I Asked Her exists.

Diving deeper into Twell Regor's discography you run into Bloom, released under the moniker "Amor Experientia." A more experimental release, to be sure. But also similar in its escapist offering to its listeners.