Erik Sarno, musically known as LOMAN, is a hip-hop beatmaker who has made a name for himself as a producer and contributor to the local Massachusetts scene. His previously owned store in Somerville’s Bow Market, Union Sound, was focused around beatmaking gear: small niche, sometimes homemade gadgets, alongside notable drum machines by Roland and Akai. Union Sound was more than just a storefront though, functioning as a hub for events such as The Shift (a one-day beat tape recording) and classes by producers like Lightfoot’s workshops on how to pocket operators (a pocket-sized sampling machine). Unfortunately, during the COVID pandemic, Union Sound closed its doors. However, that is also when the brand evolved into a label releasing vinyl and tapes for local acts such as Latrell James and Cliff Notez & Dephrase. Presently, Sarno still pours this passion into his role as Program Director for Cambridge’s Central Square Business Improvement District, creating community happenings such as Central Square by Night, a market with food stands, and starting their radio station, Central On Air, focusing on the underground music scene.
Now he’s capping off the year with Notturno, an EP named after the Italian word for a musical composition inspired by the night. The four tracks all have a pensive and dusky vibe: music colored by the ambience reminiscent of the Boston skyline while driving alongside the Charles River on Storrow Drive when all the usual cars packing the roads are parked at home. There’s something about the hissing, jazzy samples that evoke this feeling—the tremor of the flute chops on “Full House,” the single note woodwind sample and relaxed drums slightly panned out of sight on “Apertif,” the whimsical blending of hypnotic layers on the closing posse cut “Lunar.”
But the production isn’t the main part of Notturno evoking nighttime, it’s the collaborative nature of these artists coming together to add their pieces to LOMAN’s nocturne. They channel a late studio session that doesn’t wrap up until the song is complete, despite the time on the clock. The homegrown camaraderie is exemplified by every featured artist being from Massachusetts: Chandler Ward and Nafisa from Cambridge, Nyuesi Loe from Lynn, Michael Christmas and Swizzy from Roxbury, RLX from Lawrence, and Kadeem from Mattapan.
On the neo-noir thriller-esque intro “Aperitif,” Ward cuts through the tip-toeing with repetition and certainty, “You had one job, stick to the plot / Now you lost it.” As the tracklist goes down, it feels like the mic is being passed along. For “Potent,” RLX takes the mic with gusto and cuts through the airy guitar sample with introspective braggadocio, ending on an inspirational and fitting Kobe Bryant quote about work ethic and working hard with the tools you’ve been blessed with. The album closer, “Lunar,” is when the fog comes out before the morning dew and each verse from Swizzy, Nafisa, and Kadeem blend into each other in a similar haze. But the project’s stand out is “Full House.” There’s chemistry in the shared candid energy of Loe and Christmas between their respective one-liners, which are as fun as the adlibs sprinkled throughout, meshed perfectly with the meditative, smoked-out backdrop by LOMAN. Loe hits magic with “N***** pop you in the street, and they do it for less / Moonwalking on Newbury, I was getting fresh,” while Christmas starts his verse off with a line good enough to earn its name, “Came into some money then I pulled out / Studio full of white folks, looks like Full House.”
Notturno feels like a fun exercise for LOMAN and his collaborators, the casual nature of the woozy loops and charismatic verses making it a tightly-packed listen perfect for an after-midnight drive on a highway lit up by city lights—or the soundtrack for a Michael Mann movie set in Massachusetts. There’s something unique and intangible about a rap project with one producer, and you can hear it in LOMAN’s careful selections to fulfill his vision. His production is the ideal balance for allowing a sample to shine, but not letting it take over, and this invites the featured artists to bring their sharpest work, feeling comfortable playing on their home turf. Each person injects their distinct style effortlessly while floating on LOMAN’s production. Notturno is another example showcasing that the Cambridge producer and community contributor cares about where he lives and is proud of it.
