Song of the Day: Mango – Vadé

Largely known for solely utilising their spine tingling harmonies, which captivated listeners of all walks of life from across the globe, UK’s very own A cappella quartet VADÉ (pronounced vah-day), have taken a fruitful route with their latest single, ‘Mango’, out now across various music platforms.

2023 sees the guys venturing out and experimenting with various genres and they certainly push their creative boundaries to new grounds with ‘Mango’, by incorporating a summer-charged instrumental – a vibrant fusion of Afrobeats and R&B – to complement their infamous harmonies.

They said of their latest offering, which was featured on BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Berkshire: “We wanted a song that represented who we are as well as something that captured fundamental parts of our lives, so we came up with Mango, combining the exotic fruit with culture and how the sweetness of it relates to the fondness of a partner.”

The lyrics capture in simplicity some of the things the guys love about their partners: “You’re not the fighting type/baby you’re sweet and fine/ you got my back when i need it/ you be my ride or die!” Similarly, the single also describes how they liken this love to the sweetness of some of the foods and drink synonymous with their Afro-Caribbean culture, “You’re sweeter than Fanta oh, plantain and pineapple!”

Vadé was formed by Philip Yeboah and JJ Hammersley in the summer of 2013 and was later joined by Jermaine Sanderson and Roy Crisp. Their aim is to encourage listeners to reimagine today’s hits and timeless classics through a cappella by collaborating with other artists and together. Their mission paid off as Vadé have quickly captured the attention of music lovers all around the world. Since late 2021, they have accumulated over 16M views of their musical arrangements across their social media channels and have engaged with their fans through duets on TikTok.The evolution of Vadé’s sound progressed in the summer of 2022 while collaborating with Erik “Blu2th” Griggs, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and multi-platinum producer for Dr. Dre and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. The result was their first festive single, ‘Christmas Wish’ was released in November 2022.Vadé continues to explore new music styles through their debut EP later this year…until then, the guys gives an exotic taste from their forthcoming collection with ‘Mango’, out now across all music download and streaming sites.

Follow Vadé via:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/vadesings/
T: https://twitter.com/vadesings
IG: https://www.instagram.com/vade/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vadesings

Song of the Day: Balance – Joker Starr

UK artist JOKER STARR is very much inspired by London’s vast sub genres of music cultures, particularly hip-hop and dancehall.

He teams up with producer Dirty Feet and goes beyond the confines of rap and hi- hop in order to explore the vibrations of the deepest dub, and serve up the sweetest infusion in true reggae dancehall fashion. His latest single ‘Balance’ featuring AnyWay Tha God, is a reflection of carefree times growing up in the 90s. Check out the Honey JD – produced video for the slamming track below…

Song of the Day: Only One – Oleta Frances

UK vocalist OLETA FRANCES delivers her first release of the year, in a classic, timeless single entitled ‘Only One’.

Following on from Oleta Frances’ debut EP in 2022, the songstress has started her campaign for 2023. Oleta is finding her feet in the music industry and still establishing herself as the rising star that she currently is. In 2022, Oleta Frances had some performances in London off the back of her EP being released. The single from Oleta Frances’ previous EP was played on BBC Introducing Berkshire twice in 2021 before it was officially released. Oleta Frances intends on getting the ball rolling this year with more impact than ever.

‘Only One’ will be relatable for anyone that listens purely because the subject matter is a topic that most people have experienced directly or indirectly. The single is about wanting to be considered a priority by a love interest and being the “Only One” they are talking to rather than an option. Oleta Frances took inspiration from R&B legends SWV when recording and writing this song. The goal was to create a conventional R&B hit that could be listened to decades from now and still evoke the same emotions every time it is heard. Have a listen below…

Song of the Day: Struggle Bus – Oleta Frances

Berkshire vocalist OLETA FRANCES‘ first release of the year, ‘Struggle Bus’ is a transparent, heartfelt single based on a previous romantic relationship she had that did not work out, detailing how she felt about the whole experience. She choose the title of the single, to compare a situation that is not good for your mental or physical health, to a bumpy bus journey, where you have the choice to get off the ride or stay on and continue to Struggle.

Oleta Frances has always had a passion for music and it is something that has always been a significant part of her life, but it was only last year that she decided to take the plunge into taking her craft more seriously. This plunge started off by Oleta recording covers to existing songs on Instagram and gaining some traction organically. One of the songs covered by Oleta was a song entitled ‘Picky’ by Joey Montana, which he noticed and shared on his profile. This gave Oleta the confidence and motivation to continue perfecting craft and start creating original songs. In this period, ‘Struggle Bus’ and several other songs were created. In fact, Struggle Bus has already been played twice on BBC Introducing Berkshire last year, prior to its release date last month.

So this is your chance to take in the soulful bounce of ‘Struggle Bus’

Song of the Day: Same Again – Char

Following her critically acclaimed debut single ‘Control’, which was met with rave reviews from the likes of BBC Introducing, Lefuturewave, DiscoverNU, and Mercato Metropolitano Radio, Berkshire singer and songwriter CHAR‘s first offering of 2020 ‘Same Again’ is a mesmerising offering with warm R&B and lush pop sensibilities, led by CHAR’s smooth vocal and effortlessly soulful delivery, underpinned by a slow-building jazz-soul fusion minimalist musical backdrop, which allows CHAR to steal the show from start to finish.

The latest release sees CHAR looking introspectively at the cyclic repetitive behavior. She explains: “We often find ourselves trapped in, not considering the effects of doing the same thing again and again, and expecting a different result – whether it’s going back to that one person time and time again, or repeating the same night out over and over again. The track is a bit of hard nudge for me, but there’s also a self-soothing aspect to the track, where I’m saying ‘let’s not beat ourselves up too much’, because life is already tricky enough to navigate through as it is”.

Check out the video for the single below…