WHEN Chibueze Clinton Okoro, professionally known as Retroboom, stepped out with this four-tracker extended play, Orange, for some reasons I imagined the project to feel warm, euphoric, and sweet. The title, Orange, might have been a giveaway; but it’s still dicey to imagine what could make a music producer title their soundscape to reflect that tropical spirit. The answer: lo-fi chords and Amapiano.

Kicking off the playlist with the track ‘Bleus’, Orange presents a comfortable embrace tucked in ambient piano chords, pop drum kicks, and the indefatigable rush of log-drums.

The song warps its hook inside the percussion, layering up with soothing lo-fi chord progressions that could sedate the busiest of minds. Its low tempo, slow-paced cadence sets the tone for the rest of the EP, making catharsis, tonal balance and replay value its ultimate north star.

The second track, ‘Focus’, slides in with Soulful Private School Amapiano percussion that sounds like a pre-climax of something bigger.

The entire song combines raspy piano chords, exploring trills and consonance to sustain the relaxing feel that the EP presents. While the song leaves one gaping for shock value, its outro compensates with a brilliant finish that celebrates the piano chords most profoundly in the EP. With vocals the song could very well pass for a BOJ or Fireboy classic, ushering in a shift in ‘pop piano’ where ambient chords and the overall idea of piano music as a sombre pill reign supreme.

Segueing the EP into a strong finish, the third track ‘Flash’ brings more chord progressions into Retroboom’s recipe. He explores more tropical guitar riffs, reminiscent of music traditions like African Jazz Soul or Caribbean funk.

The drums are louder and pack a stronger punch, with the signature crank motif of Amapiano embellishing the jam as a pleasurable dancey groove.

By the closing track, ‘Strange’, he takes the mask off his lo-fi ambitions fully, exploring a tonal structure that sandwiches the melancholic ambient melodies into every bite of the record. It’s slower, reflective, and groovy, perfectly tuned for a Lounge or chill pop fusion. Interestingly, Orange presents itself as a conceptual diet, one tailored to nourish the idea of sonic fusions with Amapiano as a foundation. It’s a right-wing shift from the club-focused Amapiano tracks in rotation across Afrobeats presently.

It arrives as a call for Afrobeats music producers to popularise the soulful piano music scene as both a cultural staple and a progressive approach to dance music.

With Bpms (Beats-per-minute) shuttling between 110 and 150, Afrobeats dance music has since been consumed like an urgent main course. And Orange reframes how we could dilute such urgency with soulfulness, bringing the giddy South African percussion into a broader, catholic chamber of lo-fi. It’s a pleasurable listen, best enjoyed in quiet moments or gentle gatherings, and it glides with soothing transitions that keep it spinning with cohesiveness and replay value. Overall, it’s a gentle introduction into Retroboom’s creative soundscape, signalling his potential as one of the sonic innovators to look out for in the coming years. While its melancholia might struggle to appeal with mass audiences, House music lovers can easily find their spark in the mushy embrace of its tracklist.

A standout from the fray remains ‘Flash’, which packs the strongest melting pot of percussion and piano in the EP.

With originality, sonic cohesiveness, composition/tracklisting, tonal balance and, ultimately, catharsis as its ripest fruits, Orange soars as a truly brilliant debut and progressive sonic capsule. It’s well recommended to music lovers trying to expand their palette, and it sits safely as a 7/10.