Channel Tres, Compton native and maker of funky-ass club-pop, was putting out records and playing great live shows for years before he finally released his full-length debut. That album, Head Rush, finally came out in 2024, and it had guests like Thundercat, Toro y Moi, and Ty Dolla $ign. This year, Tres appeared on new records from Thundercat and Dahi, and he's been putting out his own singles like "Pop Pop," "Black Techno Guy," and the Crystal Water-sampling "Medicine." Now, album number two is here.
Channel Tres announced his new album Enigma POV on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, but I totally missed that. He co-produced much of the record with longtime collaborator Nick Sylvester, an old friend of mine, and you'd think Nick would've told me it was coming out, but no. Not one text, no email, nothing. So it's not a surprise release, but it's a surprise to me, and maybe also to you.
Enigma POV has no featured guests, but it's got production from Pharrell (on "Curious") and Take A Daytrip (on "Gangsta"). My man Nick co-wrote a song with Pharrell! Nineteen years ago, he and I were going nuts about Pharrell's Gangsta Grillz mixtape In My Mind: The Prequel. Incredible. Pharrell and Channel Tres make perfect sense as collaborators, too. Anyway, I'm on my first listen to Enigma POV right now, and I'm having a great time. Hear it for yourself below.
Enigma POV is out now on Alta Music Group.
