Tag: UK talent

Song of the Day: Anna’s Arcade – Ash Shakur

Illustrator and experimental hip hop artist ASH SHAKUR‘s blissfully witty jam, ‘Anna’s Arcade’, takes you on a nostalgic trip down memory lane, via the arcade to play everyone’s favorite video games. Sonically, 8-bit game inspired sounds are woven into a boom bap beat produced by Masked Man, whilst Ash delivers playful bars based around his youth, unrequited love and his video games obsession. Listen out for lots of gamer references, as Ash uses video games as a metaphor for life’s obstacles, as he explains:

“The first verse explains a small part of the music game and how you have to watch out for those bowers! I wanted to draw parallels of life’s challenges to the levels on a video game”. The last verse highlights the theme of, how people play games ie: she’s playing hard to get – or he’s a player. I want Anna’s Arcade to be the place you think about having the most fun. Every time you listen, I want to bring you back to this feeling.”

The south Londoner is known for his leftfield take on hip hop, mixing witty storytelling with smooth melodies and catchy choruses his unorthodox style and flow has won fans across the globe. ‘Anna’s Arcade’ follows previous single Horror Flick’ which was supported by Adidas on Spotify and Indie Shuffle, whilst other tracks. ‘Lead The Way’ (released on Kitsuné Hot Stream), ‘Never Alone’, ‘Nokia’ and ‘Shine’ have courted wide spread media support from BBC 1Xtra, Noisey, Complex UK and Notion.

Ash is also the co-founder of Art Life Central, a collective that expresses creativity and freedom through music and fashion. He aims to inspire people through his vibrant visuals and incorporates this art direction across all of his musical content.

Check out Ash’s vibrant track below…may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.

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Fayme Rounds Up The Year With Single ‘Ghost’

Following his debut on the blog’s Song of Day hotspot with neon-trap single, ‘Demon’ back in the summer,  FAYME bounces right back with brand new single titled ‘Ghost’.

For this release, the Leicester-based artist/producer teams up with Australian producer, Avalon, who gave ‘Ghost’ its simple acoustic melodic introduction in order to create a folk song, inspired by Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes. The tranquil intro was later joined by melancholic synths (inspired by James Blake’s electronic sound from ‘The Colour In Anything’) and dancehall drums, giving the production a hard-hitting yet a very edgy/catchy vibe. The track invites us – the listeners – to channel the emotions of a ghost who is lonely and misses his lover.

Fayme describes his offering as electro folk…personally, I would described this single as electro Afro. What do you think? Have a listen to ‘Ghost’ below…

 

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Song of the Day: Destiny – Aina More

South London artist and producer AINA MORE could easily be described as one of UK rap’s best kept secrets, or perhaps one of the UK’s best new and emerging rap artists.

Having already been championed by tastemakers such as BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and BBC 1Xtra, among others, and with The BRIT Awards featuring her on their BRITs compilation album a few years ago, the British Nigerian native should firmly be on your radar. On the off chance that she isn’t, Aina More is back in the frame to make sure of it!

She closes out 2020 with a fiery new track titled ‘Destiny’ and an equally fierce music video to go with it. Co-produced by Aina More herself and long-time collaborator Musiek Mambu, the track opens with an attention-grabbing sample of the Seun Kuti afrobeat classic ‘Bad Man Lighter’, before Aina More gets in her bag for two minutes straight, as she waxes lyrical in braggadocios fashion, about everything from her superior rap skills to decrying false prophets to the excellence of black women, while giving listeners an update on what she’s been up to this year.

Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Destiny’, Aina More says, “With what I’ve been creating lately, there’s so much that I’m going to give of myself musically in the coming year, I have this unquenchable hunger to express myself freely, and ‘Destiny’ is the first part of that. Lyrically, I needed to remind everyone of just who Aina More is, and overall, I feel it represents my identity well, even down to the Oye 2.0-directed visuals – I’m very authentically Yoruba, but I’m also that girl that grew up in London, and sometimes I let my ego just do its own thing”.

With a fusion sound that can be described as a cross between Kendrick Lamar, Skepta and Fela Kuti, and a performance prowess that has seen her touring with Professor Green and opening for her idol Lauryn Hill, Aina More is typified by her unapologetic lyricism and cutting edge sonics, as highlighted as far back as her 2016 EP ‘For People With Short Attention Spans’ as well as subsequent tracks like ‘Girls Killing It’, ‘Afrikan Lady’ and ‘Healer’ that led to rave reviews and support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, The FADER, MTV and The BRIT Awards.

Check it out below…

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Song of the Day: Stay True – Danni Jackson

DANNI JACKSON‘s sound fuses pop and contemporary R&B with elements of Indie, being heavily influenced by artists such as JoJo, Jhene Aiko and Alanis Morisette. You may have seen her face before in Comedy Central’s award winning web series ‘Bad Cramps’, which Danni writes and stars in.

Having released her debut EP in 2016, Danni’s first single ‘We Ain’t Got Love’ was quickly picked up as BBC Introducing track of the day. Since then she has accumulated over 250k streams on Spotify alone with her most successful songs being ‘Everything I am’ and ‘Chains’.

‘Stay True’, showcases Danni’s ability to tell a story. The song depicts the breakdown of a five year relationship and is an open yet deeply personal letter to the other half. This is one that will resonate with listeners whether it be from a personal experience or one they have witnessed as Danni states, “The song isn’t something that happened to me directly, but I watched my sister and mum go through it so it’s their story I’m telling”.

2021 will see Danni releasing her follow up single ‘Too Much’ in January and her second EP by spring…but until then, check out ‘Stay True’ below…

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Song of the Day: Lonely Too Long – Mullally

A true force to be reckoned with and an artist at the top of his game, Norwich-based pop singer/songwriter MULLALLY creates powerful material that genuinely connects to listeners through his passion for music, dedication and conviction that can be heard in every word he sings.

Using his music as a platform to maintain a conversation on mental health, ‘Lonely Too Long’ is written about the apprehension of falling in love because of the fear of heartbreak and being left lonely all over again. With loneliness being such a big theme in his writing, Mullally has decided to work with The Marmalade Trust to bring awareness around loneliness, especially during such harrowing times.

Speaking more on this, Mullally explained: I wanted to capture the sadness of being lonely and the joy of finding someone, all in the same track. This track is really close to my heart because even though it’s written about a very particular point in my life, it manages to pop back up and be relevant over and over again as life continues. I wrote this almost 3 years ago with Eg White and Jon Green, two amazing musicians, so I’m thrilled that I can finally share this song. I’m also excited to be working with Marmalade Trust to bring awareness around loneliness in the UK.

He’s a rapidly rising star with building dialogue around him having had support from Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, 1Xtra’s DJ Target, Beats 1 and MTV along with supporting Annie Marie, Jess Glynne, Rag ’n’ Bone Man, Clean Bandit and many more on tour.

Make sure you look out for more powerful material from this talented guy in 2021…but for now, check out ‘Lonely Too Long’ below:

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