Following a brilliant year playing BBC Introducing Live, Reading & Leeds Festivals; as well as multiple shows for Sofar Sounds, London based, alternative hip-hop artist, HYPHEN returns track ‘Stand Back’.
Using his music as a platform to maintain a conversation on mental health, Aadarsh Gautam, Aka. Hyphen, frequently finds solace in songwriting and is not afraid to address and share his personal aperture. To spread a positive impact, he has single handedly raided over £6.5k for New Horizons a charity that works to alleviate homelessness in London. He also performed for Sanctus, a mental health charity, to raise awareness for depression in young men – given how close an issue it is to his heart.
Speaking on the track, Hyphen explains: “I’ve talked a lot about mental health in my music, and that always tends to focus on the bad parts (being depressed, anxious etc.) but I wanted to do something which is about feeling good about yourself, looking in the mirror and feeling like you’re doing alright. The world is terrible place in so many ways – I love how some songs can put you in a good mood regardless of that. I wanted to try make song that had that impact.”
In just six months he has gathered quite the collection of accolades. His single ‘We’re OK’, written during a dark time in Hyphen’s life when he was struggling with his mental health, was picked up by London Evening Standard and received national radio play on BBC Asian Network who tipped Hyphen as ‘The Future of British Asian Hip-Hop’. Hyphen also appeared on Metro’s Mental Health podcast Mentally Yours, to share his battle with mental health and how music helped shape his future.
Follow up singles, ‘Ice Cold’ and ‘Feels Right’, also saw national radio play from BBC 6 Music, with legendary radio presenter Tony Robinson saying, ‘You’ve got a great career ahead of you’. Further afield, all three tracks have gained momentum at BBC Introducing, which led to Hyphen playing the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals, and BBC Introducing Live.
It’s time for you guys to ‘Stand Back’ and listen to the single…
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