Former Youtube streamer, Benjamin Fernando Barajas Lasky, combines folktronica (a la Ultramarine) and emo-rap (a la Lil Peep) as Quadeca, especially on 2022’s I Didn’t Mean To Want You, a ghostly and depressive concept album constructed from dense cloudy atmospheres mixed seamlessly with trap cadences. Vanisher, Horizon Scraper, for the most part, reneges his cloud rap roots, embracing more ambient and baroque pop stylings. Each track is built on fragmented layers of instrumentation which splinter and decay underneath the hymn-like vocal melodies and create a complex emotional setting, somewhere between euphoria and disconnection.
Case in point is the opener NO QUESTIONS ASKED embroiled in sweltering oriental flourishes, and the rousing digital chaos of the second track, WAGING WAR (feat. Oleka), that emerges from twinkling keyboard arpeggios and sounds like Aphex Twin remixing a Frank Ocean song. Also on the atmospheric side is AT A TIME LIKE THIS, even more maximalist, with digital scratching, brittle bursts of brass instrumentation and expressive singing. The darkest atmosphere comes from the dissonant spoken-word piece THAT’S WHY, that then gives way for a standard acoustic singalong. In stark contrast is I DREAM ABOUT SINKING – a dreamy watercolor piece of flutes and drones (derivative of Japanese bands like Fishmans).
These ‘sonic’ experiments are interspersed with more regular electro-orchestral ballads, sung in his trademark breathy register, swarmed by the production tricks. The twitchy waltz (a la James Blake), Ruin My Life, which attempts a neo-classical coda of clattering drums, croons, sound effects and eventually flamenco guitar arpeggiation. Similar is MONDAY, one of the catchiest tracks, with a subtle ‘pizzicato’ combination of violin and double-bass. GODSTAINED would be a standard finger-clicking R&B track, if not for the pastoral flute in the background and the manic trap acceleration on the backend. These tracks demonstrate his skill for taking ordinary melodies and slathering them in electronic and baroque flourishes until they evolve into something quite different.
The most experimental track however is THUNDRR, which is a delirious rap over a ‘ticking’ beat, swapping with a stomping dance-beat. The departure of the previous track continues on the virulent hardcore hip-hop of THE GREAT BAKUNAWA (feat. Danny Brown). These tracks feel out of context, especially when followed by the seven minute hymn, Forgone, of mainly piano and crooning. The closer, CASPER is another random track – a frantic spoken word piece by Maruja’s Harry Wilkinson which eventually explodes into an quasi-orchestral post-industrial crescendo.
Quadeca belongs to a long line of pop arrangers, starting with George Martin and Brian Wilson, who can turn ordinary ‘classic’ melodies into something modern and novel. The integration of emo and cloud rap is more subtle in this case. Still, in an era of remakes, this feels like an album that could have only been made in the 2020s. The primary weakness of the album is the triteness of the melodies and the singing (particularly lame on FORGONE). Nonetheless, the aural choreography skills of the home producer are appreciable, even over an ambitious 70 minute runtime. .
Losing My Edge Rating: 7/10
Best Tracks: WAGING WAR, RUIN MY LIFE, GODSTAINED
Released: July 25, 2025
Label: X8