Soulful singer/songwriter Mutlu submits a sensational summer ballad in the groove-laden “Lifeline,” which is due out later this month everywhere that quality independent music is available, and in its larger than life beats and smoking serenade, we discover an embracive, motivational narrative that every American needs to hear in 2019. Mutlu is turning up the charm behind the microphone in this top notch soul track, but his sweet singing skills are only one of the many gems to be appreciated in the nearly three minutes that it takes the surprisingly sprawling “Lifeline” to completely blossom.
URL: www.mutlusounds.com/
Each component within the instrumentation is mixed with a sublime attention to detail here, with every nuanced percussive thrust and subtle sway of the strings receiving the VIP treatment in the grander scheme of things. There’s no inefficiency on the soundboard; we’re given front-row seats to an intimate performance by Mutlu and his session players in this song that rivals what I can only imagine his live shows must be like. He’s got such an amazing presence here that, if it were to hold up in concert, his live performances would make for a can’t-miss event that pop and soul enthusiasts alike could get into.
While most of his contemporaries in and out of Philly have been going in a more surreal direction with their music, Mutlu is doing the exact opposite in “Lifeline,” and with excellent results. “Lifeline” is totally straightforward both compositionally and sonically, and in his focused, concise attack, Mutlu gives us all of the muscle in the melody without any of the added bells and whistles that I would normally expect to hear in a new single of this type. He’s cutting out anything unnecessary here while avoiding the pitfalls that come with a barebones, minimalist soul sound. The experimental edge is still there, it’s just joined with a conservative style of execution that suits his sound exceptionally well.
I can see this song being a hugely successful jam live. The framework is flexible enough to support some extended guitar breakdowns, and this consistent beat could get an entire arena clapping in synchronicity. Mutlu constructed the choruses to basically be interchangeable and easy to shift if necessary, and with a loud crowd’s energy there to feed off of, there’s not a doubt in my mind that “Lifeline” could easily turn a dull evening into a night that audiences would never forget. He’s one heck of a composer, and anyone who might have questioned his talents in the past would do well to give this single a close examination.
WATCH THE VIDEO: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KYgQazsT1I&feature=youtu.be
If you’ve never heard the work of Mutlu before now, “Lifeline” is the perfect way to get acquainted with the veteran singer/songwriter’s blend of old fashioned Philadelphia soul and modern folk-rock. I’ve been following this artist for a little while now, and as anyone familiar with his music is well aware, he’s never stopped growing as a performer and composer in the time that he’s been active in the underground. Mutlu has melodicism in his heart, and though he’s not the only passionate Pennsylvanian that journalists like myself have been abuzz over this summer, he’s definitely one of the most endearing.
Clay Burton