Nymano’s “Short Stories” is the quintessential beat-tape. It’s got everything you’d want out of a lofi hip-hop beat-tape. It will hit you with the Cowboy Bebop samples, immerse you in a jazzy atmosphere, and have you feeling profound feelings by just looking at the covert art. It’s a fantastic beat-tape.

Nymano

Nymano is a French producer from Nancy, France. When he’s not in his bedroom making beats, he’s in university pursuing education in the sciences. Interestingly, Nymano is actually signed to Orikami, an independent French label based in Paris that focuses on electronic and hip-hop instrumentals. This is pretty rare in lofi hip-hop, for most of the “bedroom beat makers” are amateurs with no future goal of landing a deal with any music company.

As a fellow student pursuing other passions on the side, I respect Nymnao and his work a lot. If you enjoy his work, please consider supporting Nymano or following him on his social media; he has a FaceBook and Twitter. To keep updated with his newest releases, follow him on SoundCloud. Lastly, if you like this beat-tape as much as I do, support his Bandcamp!

Album Overview

Review

Overall this is a great tape to put on while relaxing or studying (especially at night), however the beat-tape is definitely more than just easy listening loops. The jazzy melodies are impressive and complex. Some tracks like douceur, daydream, la peur have melodies so strong that you could almost call the beat-tape a lofi jazz tape. However, your classic hypeman chants on some tracks like hara and women, along with nice drum breaks give the beat-tape that hip-hop feel. On a related note, the beat for comfy goes super hard. Give it a listen.

Good Samples

Nymano has chosen some great samples that pair well with audio clips from works like Cowboy Bebop (solitude, women) , The Place Beyond the Pines (memories of you) , Hey Arnold (people), and even the Fresh Prince of Bellaire (great to see you). The Cowboy Bebop samples make sense when you realize how jazzy the beat-tape is.

Central Theme

Overall I commend this tape for having a really strong central feel. It seems that a lot of the youngster’s tapes nowadays are just samples with drum breaks over them that don’t contribute to a central theme. “Short Stories” is in a way a series of short stories.

It’s a series of stories of your life. This tape will make you think inward and recall how you’ve felt during different points of you life. There’s a lot of jazzy piano, with some down-tempo blues feels give the tape a slightly more melancholy feel.

Notable Tracks

There are some easy listening songs on the beat-tape, which in a way serve as sort of interludes so if you’re listening to this tape while studying you get a good mix of strong songs along with some easy listening songs that are strong in their own right.

solitude

Solitude is a lot of people’s favorite songs off the tape and for good reason. It’s also played so often on the YouTube lofi radios that I’d get sick of it if I could. The Cowboy Bebop sample on this teaches an important lesson central to the feel of the album. It’s nice having real solitude at times, as long it’s accompanied by some soft piano, a little bit of brass and some beats, of course.

memories of you

Another favorite from the tape, memories of you was put at the beginning of Steezy’s version of the beat-tape where he reordered the tracks. Because of the production and how the sample from Beyond the Pines puts you in that reflective state, It has become the defining song of the tape to me.

douceur (feat saib)

I like to imagine saib, an equally amazing lofi producer, jamming out on the guitar in the most intense way possible and it just making this beautiful relaxing solo somehow. This song also features an audio clip from the anime Samurai Champloo, which is fitting because the anime is known for its soundtrack. This is a great song and I understand why Nymano chose to have the beat-tape open with this song.

people

Another great audio clip comes from the Pigeon Man from the cartoon show, “Hey Arnold!”. The Pigeon Man speech adds to the beat-tape’s feelings of loneliness before the track goes into the main production. Good stuff.

skate at night

I love the little shooting stars sound effect in this one. This one’s title really fits the piece once you listen to it. The track kind of celebrates the night and the fun that can be had during it. I love it.

bedroom thoughts

This is a great track for the beat-tape to end on. It makes you reflect on those thoughts you would have in your bed before going to sleep when you were a child still living with your parents, scared of growing up and what will happen in your future. It’s funny to think about the the short stories that have taken place since then that have led to where we are today.

Conclusion

Nymano is a professional bedroom beat maker who will take you on a feels trip with this jazzy, easy listening lofi hip-hop beat-tape. Along the trip, you’ll learn to take comfort in the rain, and wish the night lasted forever.

More Beats

If you like this showcase of Nymano’s “Short Stories,” consider checking out the previous one. Driver’s “Forest” is a fantastic beat-tape that has always been my favorite (don’t tell Nymano though). Check out the beat-tape showcase for it here.