Rising electronic star AWIR LEON hypnotise us with his new single Sitting So High, released via French label Nowadays Records.
Best known as one-third of the Indie Shuffle-approved electro outfit UNNO (featured on NEW LEASE MUSIC with track Blue Leaf,) AWIR LEON conjures up charming R&B vocals, lo-fi production and a flurry of glitchy tones. Gently nodding in the post-dubstep direction of artists like James Blake and Jamie Isaac, it also finds a dark yet playful line between the spacious sounds of Airhead and the husky tones of Nicolas Jaar.
Following in the footsteps of recent Nowadays successes like Sekuoia, Clement Bazin and Jumo, Sitting So High introduces Leon as another prime example of the label’s cutting edge talent. An artist for whom mood and texture is just as important as substance, the engine behind his new track is the sheer nostalgia that it draws out, which is aptly reflected in its accompanying visuals.
The track will form the first episode of a three-part video series of Leon’s upcoming debut solo album Giants, set to drop next autumn. Self-directed and choreographed, the visuals signify the producer’s most personal work to date and depict him dancing around on top of a coal mountain in the North of France; his movements erratic and unpredictable, yet fluid and graceful. Shot next to the house where the French artist grew up, Leon describes the video as representing the “starting point of his life”.
Laced with rumbling bass lines, moody synths and smooth vocals that wander freely between provocative trip-hop and melancholy jazz, Sitting So High clearly sets him apart from his successes as a collaborator and band member. With his solo nuance of new-wave vibes and broody tones, he is surely well on his way to becoming Nowadays Records’ most exciting export of the year so far.
Sitting So High is now available for purchase here.
