Ball of Wax 48 Songs: Yas/Whetzel – “Wonder Arc en Ciel”

Yas/Whetzel is the project of local Seattle producer James Whetzel and French rapper Yas. I presume “Wonder Arc en Ciel” is about a rainbow (wonder arc in the sky), though you wouldn’t guess that by the nervous, driving pace of the track. There’s a real Act II tension in the song, enhanced by Yas’s serious, more-spoken-than-rapped performance. There’s something particularly cinematic about the song, even the way the production expands and contracts, layering in drums and bass to heighten the drama then pulling back to sparse guitar and what sounds like a click track to catch a breath.