The third release from Nathaniel Pearn’s (aka Kano-1) personal pet project Natural Self finds Pearn once again doing what he does best. A lil’ funk, some dubstep, and brass like a soul band.

While Pearn has been keeping himself busy contributing to various notable artists work (Quantic, MC Abdominal, Nicole Willis, etc) he’s not lost the drive and passion for Natural Self that made previous albums great. “My Heart Beats Like A Drum” expands on concepts in “The Art Of Vibration” and “One Man’s weird is another man’s world,” but also stands alone as an incredible work of soul/funk record store culture.

“The Shock You Heard” kicks off the album with a dubstep and world drumming flavor. “Days Get Brighter” features the horns of Fulvio Sigurta and Mark Hanslip, who’s work can be found all over “My heart beats like a drum”. The Latin inspired hand drumming of “Days get brighter” sinks in nicely with the horns helping to make an inspired, soulful sound.

Some of the finest moments of “My heart beats like a drum” come from the additions of Elodie Rama (Hocus Pocus). We first hear her as backup vocals on “Believer”, but Rama soon moves to the foreground for “Midnight Sun”. Great horns, groovy dubstep, and terrific multi-tracked vocal harmonies from Elodie Rama make “Midnight Sun” my pick for a radio single on “My Heart Beats Like A Drum”. Again, on the title track, Rama and Pearn get down with a more hip-hop influenced sound.

Smooth beats and solid production conspire to make “My Heart Beats Like A Drum” this year’s darling for soul / tech fans. Another superb album from Natural Self.