June Digital Cover: Pheelz He’s got one of the hottest Afrobeats songs out right now, and a lot more up his sleeve. I sat down with hit producer, artist and viral sensation Pheelz to talk about his 10+ year “overnight success”, the most important element in his music and next steps. Pheelz’s music, whether he’s produced it or been the main artist, connects with so many people so directly, I had to find out about his entry into music and the kind of experiences that formed his musical foundation. Were you brought up with music, or was there something you saw one day and decided this is the path you wanted to take? I don't think I was brought up with music, but I would say I was as well because my dad is a pastor and he owns a church that has a choir and everything. I can still remember being like 5 years old and that was like my introduction to music, my first time in the adult church. I heard the choir sing and saw what it does, the emotions and like the power music had, I still remember that feeling as a 5-year-old kid like just wanting that. I was just sold from that point. Did you find the foundation of your earlier cuts of music being influenced/rooted in the gospel music genre because of this? I think the foundation is music in all the words, gospel, contemporary, classical, I’ve always accepted and absorbed a lot of that from HipHop like everything. So I never started listening to gospel and wanted to make it, but I was like ‘oh, THIS is music’, ‘okay how do you read music? How do you write music? Okay, what's this score? Who’s Beethoven?’ That's how it went because I’m a very curious person, and I’m also a Gemini shoutout to all the Geminis out there, I’m just up and down you know. That makes sense, so this curiosity kind of drew you deeper into music as an entity, and you mentioned reading and writing music, did you make it your mission to learn how to play any instruments in particular? Oh yeah, I play 5 - sometimes 6 depending on how I’m vibing. Well, I play the drums and keys, I play the guitar, the lead and the bass. I play the saxophone a bit, I play a bit of the piccolo - with those two instruments it depends on how I'm vibing but the first 4 ones are my main ones. Woah so you’re a walking one-man band. I don’t like putting artists in boxes and you’re one it’s tricky to do that with because I’m hearing you say “just vibing” a lot. But in terms of the kind of music you make or your personal genre how would you describe it? Urm to be very honest I have never had a genre I just had a location. If you listen to my productions from day one I’ve never been genre-specific. Yes, I’ve dabbled into different styles but I feel like my footprint has always been distinct regardless of the style that I'm in. So I wouldn't say I have a genre, I just have a vibe, like I just vibrate on a certain frequency and whatever genre that frequency goes to, that will be my interpretation of that at that time I just move like that. How did Finesse come about? Were you in a mood and feeling exactly like the lyrics of the song? What were your feelings/vibes at that moment? The feelings of finesse I call it a cocktail of shit, that's what I call it *laughs* and that’s the feeling. Because it was just a lot of things like the inspiration, especially for the lyrics, I got them from a lot of cocktails of shit that’s happened to me and I just put them all on a canvas. Like you have the first half that goes “And I've been living fast life but I see it in slow-mo (Olohun)...And you see my lifestyle like a G's in the turbo (For sure)” because actually, I have friends that have turbo Benz and always whip it around you know. Okay, so you really live what you rap. *laughs* Yeah, you know. Then I have the line where I said “Bad girl say she wan Netflix and chill’ it's like you know, I give her a warning - if you fall in love it’s certain you go chop breakfast. Now, ‘breakfast’ in Nija is another word for a breakup. Then I have the hook that says yeah “Ahhh, finesse (Ge ge ti), If I broke na my business (Ye ye), Ama shana e go bright o (Ge ge ti)” which means urm we’re gonna turn on the sparklers in the club and we’re gonna be bright, and then folake for the night. Ah pure vibes, and then we have our other star boy BXSN jump in with his verse. Had you two worked together before this or planned to? We’ve always wanted to work together, we’ve been saying we want to for like a year and a half but just been so busy and yeah…Then I recorded Finesse and posted it online and you know it blew up. He sent me a message on Instagram and was like “Bro what is this sound, is it just a TikTok sound or is it a song?” I’m like ‘ah bro it’s a song oh, do you want a verse?’ And he was like “ah I’m down”, and we linked up and he recorded his verse that’s how it happened. That’s so great, very natural, and how did you record the chorus, is it all you? Yeah, it’s me and the producer, Micheal, we just stacked our vocals together in different dimensions of the room, because different positions in a room sound different and have like different textures, yeah. When you posted the snippet on TikTok did you think people would take and run with it the way they did? Urm to be very honest I didn’t see it as anything, I just saw it as ‘ooh I love this shit and I want people to hear it like I just wanna put this online’. It wasn’t about a release or a song; I had a different single I was going to drop, mix and mastered and everything. Will we still get to hear it? Yeah sure, it’s a jam! So I just posted it [Finesse] online because I loved it and I was just not overthinking anything. Creating fearlessly and just being in the moment, just letting it go and making art. At the end of the day you just have to go back to what really matters and that's just the art and the vibe…I’ve been doing it for over 10 years and nothing like this has happened for over 10 years, you get me, I’ve never seen this happen. I don’t think anyone’s seen this happen. I posted the video with 21 followers on TikTok, do you get? It’s crazy. That’s very true, sometimes you just have to let go. So as an artist/producer/musician, you’re really all, what advice would you give to others trying to go down that path? Be confident in yourself, like the universe responds to your energy so you know make it as positive as you can. Work just keep working, don't overthink it. Also, there's this quote that I've been living on now it says progress over perfection. Just keep creating and keep progressing. You can never be perfect just keep moving. If you keep waiting for it to be perfect you’re holding yourself back, I promise you Love that, and it’s good advice for anyone. Back to Pheelz the producer, are there any tracks you wish you produced? Ooh yeah I mean everybody has that…I wish I co-produced Happy with Pharrell. I love the feeling, that music there is beautiful. I wish I produced Superwoman by Wande Coal. I think those two are the ones I really remember, those songs are attached to a feeling so I always remember them. And are there any tracks you produced but you wish you were an artist on? Hm, that one is plenty. Okay, let’s try a Top 4 or 5 I wish I was an artist on Turn up by Olamide, Champion by Fireboy DML, High - I lowkey wrote a verse on High that no one has heard, that verse is fire . Wait woah woah woah, so how and when do we hear that verse? We’ll see how it goes - once in a while I go wild on my socials and I just post things, so it could come out one of these days. There are a lot of songs, there’s also a song on Tiwa Savage’s album called Celia’s Song. Love that, I’m still stuck on the fact you’re hiding a verse on High from us, but that’s great so I guess when you’re in the studio even if you’re in the producer’s chair you’re always in artist mode. I’m deep in it, hands-on, co-writing, harmonies, backing vocals, directing, like when I go in, I go in. I can tell, and it contributes to you being such a well-rounded artist and performer. I’m yet to see you live in real life, but that Glitch Africa performance was something, how was that all built up? That one was fun man, like when people say how mad that is I just look at them and I’m like ‘yo growing up this was a normal Sunday service’ d’you understand? Like this was me in church leading, taking the keys and playing the drums, and jumping up and down and just creating. So it’s amazing that people get to see that side of me - and that’s a whole world of me, me on stage is a different me. Just put me on stage with a couple of instruments and a band then just watch me! I like Glitch and I like watching their videos on YouTube. My manager sent me a message like “ah Glitch wants to do something for Finesse” and I was like hell yeah! Choir, keytar, I had it all up here *points to his head*. They were like “what’s a keytar?”, I went to Google and pasted an image, ‘here that’s what it looks like’ *laughs* yeah. Wow, well it sounded and looked like so much fun so shout out to you and the team for that one! Back to the studio though, while you’ve been in the UK I’ve seen a few IG stories of you in the studio with people like Ms Banks. What's cooking and have you worked with anyone else out here? We’re working sha, we’re cooking the vibes that we had yesterday are still in the pot but it’s amazing. Yeah, we made some magic. Me and Tion Wayne have a very major ice block, that one is fire, urm I’m linking up with Steff, as well. Producers too like AJ, Lekkar beats, Element, Rudimental, a nice variety. That sounds like a good group for sure, do you know what we might hear first? I don't know, to be honest, me I'm ginerging like this. Maybe we’ll drop my next single first then yeah. There are songs coming though, like major major songs. A song for the Summer maybe? Definitely definitely. We’ll give them Finesse this summer then give them one more, the icing on the cake you know, Zazu *laughs* Aha, great well I’m looking forward to what you do next, in fact, loads of people are, I know you must be looking forward to it too? No, I’ve seen it, I have seen it, you guys are only getting to see it. I saw Finesse before anybody saw it. I mean I knew it was going to maybe get here but not this fast, that’s still what’s shocking me. The rise of music from the African diaspora has been amazing to see over the past couple of years, and it’s only going to grow. It’s great to see artists like Pheelz gaining recognition and being able to share their talents on the world stage. Previous Item Next Item He’s got one of the hottest Afrobeats songs out right now, and a lot more up his sleeve. I sat down with hit producer, artist and viral...

In Conversation: Solaariss I had the absolute pleasure of catching up (over zoom) with the wonderfully gifted and talented, Solaariss. We delved into his musical upbringing and influences, collaborations, his debut single Up Until Recently and his next steps in his music journey. I’ve known Solaariss for a little while now and we have had countless conversations about music, but this one is by far my favourite. I began with just checking in with how he’s been surviving during this pandemic, because I know we’re all going through it. “I’m all good thanks, I’ve been surviving and yeah that’s pretty much it – haha, joking – I’ve been good. It’s been difficult because a lot of opportunities were on the horizon but unfortunately; corona. I’ve managed to stay creative and come up with different ways and ideas to keep my hands busy and it’s led to a lot of good stuff”. It was good to hear that he was able to stay creative, as I can imagine there are musicians who are struggling with a lack of inspiration, so I wanted to know the kind of stuff he’d been up to. “[Lockdown] really gave me the time and space to do some of things I said I wanted to do for a long time but haven’t been able to do; for example, play the guitar, learn how to animate, do graphics and how to edit videos. Lockdown happened to be the time to do all of these things”. New things aside, he also worked on his craft , “I’ll admit I’m very new to the whole writing lyrics and vocal thing because I’ve always been instrumental, but I have done a little pen writing in the background. I seem to have a structure of coming up with lyrics, either on the spot or over the course of a few days where something might have happened, and I write it down. Being at home meant that I couldn’t just go out to get inspiration; nothing sporadic could happen to influence me to write the next line or verse. It was hard at first, but the time that would usually be allocated to travelling or working that I now had free allowed my mind to go to other places and think about how to approach things from different angles, or should I say different from how I usually do it. It was a different writing experience but one that I definitely want to take on board and use in the future when coronavirus has left the building”. This gave me the perfect segue to discuss his new single “Up Until Recently” which was released on Sunday. We discussed how he came up with the song, “It’s is a song about a friendship – a situation that I had with a friend a long time ago. We were really close, and she was a very great person but due to circumstances, I ended up ghosting her for some reason which I thought at the time was understandable, but it was only up until recently – see what I did there? Haha – I feel like it’s one of those situations where you’ve looked back at something and you’ve realised you probably didn’t do the best thing, but the other person might not necessarily be thinking about that mishap; they may be over it but in your head you’re like ‘ah I feel really bad’. Essentially, I put what I would say if she could hear the song into lyrics”. I asked him if the girl knew the song was about, and whether he would talk to her about it, “nope, I think when the song is out, I might just forward the Spotify link and be like ‘this is about you by the way’. I definitely feel like it would be nice to catch up with her after all this time!” I’ve always found it really interesting that Solaariss comes from a classical background, and he’s found a way to use those skills to play jazz and other genres incredibly well. He also transitioned from cello to saxophone that intrigued me. “It wasn’t as hard as it could have been just because of the way that I look at music. I’m always looking at ways to incorporate my own ideas into stuff, so whenever we were in orchestra and playing a piece, I was always thinking of little melodies and thinking ‘if I composed or orchestrated this, what would I do here and there’, so it was all lingering in my brain. Also, not learning how to read music for the saxophone allowed me to train my ear and tap into musical thoughts in my mind to make that transition easier”. Where did your music journey start? “Starting from home, my mum was a singer - she sang in church every Sunday and she was one of the lead singers so I learnt a lot of cultural musicality from her and the most important musical element that I learnt from my mum was harmony; she was just really good with it. Whenever the choir would sing, she could just harmonise and make it sound so beautiful, so hearing that Sunday after Sunday taught me how music resonates and how notes resonate with each other to sound beautiful. From there, in primary school I joined an orchestra in my area playing cello and that helped my technicality in music quite a bit. I learnt all the theory”… And there’s A LOT …”Yep, there’s definitely a lot! But all of these were good because they were foundations that could be used in the future and that I’m using right now to create music that I really want to make. It’s like learning how to use the tools so that when you want to make anything, you can make anything. That’s what growing up in an orchestra did for me, shout out to ‘Harmony Lambeth’! And then, as I got older I picked up the saxophone and it really helped stem from my classical upbringing because classical can be very strict musically like follow the page but jazz is like okay with everything you know what can you do, so learning how to play saxophone and playing with others as well really boosted my musical ability to the point where I have all these crazy ideas in mind and I want to put them out there for people to hear”. Why saxophone? “Hm, okay I’ll give you answer A and then I’ll give you answer B. Answer A; its simply because I wanted to get out of lessons more – I thought if I learn another instrument they’ll take me out of lessons for an extra hour, that means I’m out of lessons three hours a week; amazing. Answer B is that I picked the tenor of the saxophone in particular as my main instrument because of the relationship between that, the cello and my tone of voice: we’re all tenors essentially. Also, being able to sing and show emotion on the saxophone is a very beautiful thing– it’s something that I feel is not as easy to do on the cello. You can be the canvas for beautiful music when it comes to playing the cello, but you can really be at the forefront when you’re playing the saxophone”. Did you have any particular artists that influenced your style of music when you were growing up, if so, who? “I would say my number 1 biggest influence to this day is Labrinth”. Do you know what, now that you’ve said it, it all makes sense – I see that 100%! Earthquake in particular! “Yeah that was a crazy record! That guy is amazing, and the way that he creates his music and puts his sounds together to make the music that he loves, it’s just brilliant really – it’s resonating. He is definitely an inspiration not just musically but production wise as well, his beats are crazy”! How would you describe the music that you typically create? “The music that I create right now (and I say right now because you never know where your music journey is going to lead to) I would say it’s an oxymoron really. It’s very upbeat, you can dance to it, to put it simply it’s a vibe. But when it comes to the meaning and the lyricism, they have a deeper meaning that might not be as happy – it might be a bit melancholy, forward thinking or talking about a deep-thinking issue lyrically, but I like the juxtaposition between the two. You have some people who just love to vibe, they love the beat and how it makes them feel and then you have another side to it where you can hear the meaning through the noise essentially which creates two completely different listening experiences and I love that”. One example Solaariss and I discussed was ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster the People. Lyrically, it talks about the effects of teenage mental illness whilst the beat is portraying something completely different. What is the next step for you? “I think now I’ve introduced my sound with ‘Up Until Recently’, I want to show more of my artistry; my diverse sounds and more creative ideas. You know I make music and produce but [incorporate] things like animation with music. My classical side is definitely something I’d like to bring to the forefront – One of my best experiences was playing with the LPO (London Philharmonic Orchestra) and the BBC Concert Orchestra. The reason why it was so great is because it was the first time I had arranged a piece for an orchestra, so being able to do that with the music that I have now, I would love to do that. Southbank, if you’re reading this hit me up haha”. Up Until Recently is out now on all platforms! Previous Item Next Item Starting from home,

Tilda, Online Romance and Unexpected Connections Tilda , the second film from Shorties, a gal-dem series of short films by POC filmmakers is a nearly 7min film that sees what starts off as an online cam show transform into a meet-cute. When asked who he’d want to fuck alongside the cam-girl, the client responds “old white chick [who]…played a mother to a little evil ass kid.” The cam-girl, whilst gracefully swaying to the music, deciphers this vague description to be of Tilda Swinton from We Need to Talk About Kevin. The short film sets up what we think will be a pretty mundane sexual experience with a manufactured sort of intimacy- the engineered nature of this exchange enhanced by the camera work constantly reminding us that the interaction is virtual. It abruptly changes once the client offers that he finds Tilda Swinton sexy and that he would “beat the brakes of her ass.” The latter is said with the kind of intensity reserved for things we are decidedly into. When the performer admits that she too, fucks with Tilda Swinton, we are quickly launched into that familiar space we go to when we first realise someone shares some bizzarro fascination we have. At first you are shocked that a sentiment you thought was specific to you also exists in someone else’s world, and then right after, you cosy up in that space the two of you are now sharing by diving into a conversation about it. It’s such an acutely intimate feeling for someone to recognise something about you, and be able to reflect it back in a way that makes you feel understood. Because truly, what is more you than whatever odd desire you currently have? Or in this case, whatever older white celebrity you want to fuck. There is so much promise, so much possibility after that initial connection. What else do we have common? Can we do this again? What will this connection grow into? The short film ends right before the point at which my curiosity hits its peak; what happens next after this serendipitous moment? Sabrina*, a journalist from the UK once commented on an Instagram workout post by a mutual follower from Kenya. Her comment initiated a back and forth of sharing workout routines with each other before the two eventually swapped Whatsapp numbers. “Lockdown hit and since then we somehow fell into the habit of sending each other voice notes everyday,” Sabrina* details, “maybe 3-4 minutes long- we say whether we exercised, what our mental health is like, our nutrition, our mood.” She tells me they have never met prior and only started following each other on Instagram because of their mutual interests on an entirely other app, Twitter. That it is their shared passion for exercise (and politics too) that became the bedrock for a consistent connection via voice notes seems unanticipated. “It is the most pure connection I have felt in a long time,” she reveals. There is something to be said about the connections that grow to inhabit space in our daily lives- that transcend the initial spark and seek a little more permanence. What struck me about this story is all the series of choices the two made to keep it going. The initial realisation that they are both really into working out is perhaps the only part of the story entirely out of their control. The rest of it though, sounds like a daily recommitment to stay in touch; it’s deliberate. Of course, there is some kind of safety to being this deliberate over the internet (as opposed to face-to-face and perhaps even on a phone call), ”I do feel that part of the reason we’ve been able to be so vulnerable and honest with each other is because it’s virtual.” But it is also this safety net that makes a little more reassuring that the eventual face-to-face interaction will be just fine. “I think we would meet for sure and I think it would remain pure,” Sabrina* confirms. For Nissa*, a DM response to a tweet about music birthed a relationship they didn’t see coming. Unlike with Sabrina*, this is someone they knew but had never interacted with in this way. “The [online] space they offered me felt super familiar...we found ourselves bonding on topics and experiences that made us super vulnerable.” She details the “reciprocity in creating and sharing space for expression, grief, joy, bad days,” that she has been able to experience within this connection. Nissa* tells me that beyond texting, they have also video called several times as well as watched documentaries and films together over zoom, and that she looks forward to eventually meeting up. It stands out to me that she stresses on the ease of their interactions. To find this kind of comfort in online spaces is not unheard of. Different groups of people have carved out pockets of spaces on these apps to confide in each other in a way that can often feel like you’re talking to people you’ve always known really well. I think of folds of spaces where people, with their almost already established lingo and etiquette, are able to divulge the kind of experiences that only make sense if you share an uncanny amount of experiences in common. A little like when someone from black twitter tweets about a memory from their childhood that is both extremely specific to them, as well as universal to black kids almost globally- like the danish tin with sewing appliances or the ice cream container with frozen stew. I imagine this is magnified when there are only two people in a fold. “A familiarity that cannot be explained,” as Nissa* puts it, and also one that perhaps shouldn’t need to be explained. Put simply: if you know, you know. How lucky is it to connect with someone who *knows* off the back of a DM response? For Chloe*, what began as an initial connection via DM response transcended beyond the virtual space. Towards the end of last year Chloe* lost her mother. Grief made her already tedious schedule nearly impossible, and she began to resent having responsibilities- a consistent one being having to care for her three dogs. Following a vague tweet alluding to her exhaustion, Chloe* received a DM from a friend of a friend, offering to take the dogs on daily walks for her. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure how serious she was until she actually showed up at my door the next day.” One day in the midst of planning logistics for the pickup, Chloe* gathered that her now good friend, was also dealing with loss, “but while I would have done anything for just some alone time, she really wanted the distraction of not having to be alone for those few hours a day.” When I asked Chloe* why she hadn’t asked someone in her life to help her out with her dogs, she responded that she didn’t want to feel like a burden. A lot of people have poked fun at those that use twitter as a pseudo-diary. To me, the obvious reason this feels favoroubale is the fact that it can be far easier to vent to the ether when you don’t quite want to subject anyone in particular to your venting. The responsibility of having to care and respond is spread out thinly across your followers, as well as whatever other twitter user the algorithm has decided needs to see your tweet. Naturally, when someone actually decides to take up the responsibility to respond, it's surprising. “I can’t believe she even offered. Everyone is dealing with their own problems so the fact that she was willing is crazy to me. I’m just glad she enjoys it too.” For others, the connections weren’t quite as wholesome, albeit still very enjoyable. 24 year-old-Marissa* attended an intimate virtual poetry night hosted by a classmate. Here, she met Joe* who she describes as “so goddamn sexy” and whose poem “literally wasn’t cheesy at all.” She bravely decided to shoot her shot with a joke via the personal chat option on zoom and right after the event they jumped on a zoom call of their own where they spoke for hours and exchanged almost every social media handle possible before hanging up. The next evening he reached out via text and this time things got real steamy, real quick. “I realise how wild this sounds but I shit you not maybe two hours into the conversation, we were sexting.” Unsurprisingly, a lot of singles in lockdown are as Chante Joseph puts it, are “living through a double-dip sexual recession.” And for some the lack of sexual intimacy has not been for lack of trying. Marissa admits that she was willing to break lockdown rules to meet an ex sex-buddy if it meant satisfying her needs. So when she hit it off with her sexy poet, she was more than glad to let this escalate. “I mean in the beginning it was pretty regular stuff,” Marissa explains, “but then we started trying new things...like he got me a toy and we would just get really open with what we wanted from each other.” It may very well be coincidental, but it’s hard to ignore the fated nature of a connection that satisfies a super specific and current desire you have, whether you realise you have it or not. What all these stories and Tilda have in common is that they serve as a reminder of how good it feels to experience such tender reciprocity from another human being. Ultimately, it absolutely skewers whatever is left of the already disappearing idea that virtual interactions are less authentic than in real life ones. *names were changed. Directed by Ray Smiling and written by Konyin Ayuba. Previous Item Next Item Tilda, the second film from Shorties, a gal-dem series of short films by POC filmmakers is a nearly 7min film that sees what starts off...

In Conversation With: Deyah Her latest single has caught the attention of multiple radio stations and has been slotted into lo-fi playlists across streaming platforms. Despite being unable to perform this past year, Deyah’s sound is continuing to grow and reach new audiences day by day. I jumped on a call with artist, producer, and Welsh Music Prize award-winner Deyah to chat about faith, her musical purpose, and releasing music during lockdown. Releasing new music these days is quite different, everything’s done virtually, which has been tricky for some but Deyah’s settled quite nicely into the current situation. “I haven’t really minded being indoors and especially when you’re releasing music it’s a lot easier...I just find it an easier environment to work in so it works for me.” Alongside working on her moonwalk (which she promises to try and sneak into a music video soon) Deyah says she’s spent this time indoors writing the odd freestyle and although she misses performing, she confesses that the Instagram lives and virtual pop-up shows aren’t really her thing. “I thought I’d leave that to everyone else to do. I prefer to stay in the background and kind of like work on my performance skills and work on my craft so that when it is the time to perform then it’ll be some type of crazy.” The loss of live shows in the last 11 months has been tough for the music industry, their return will undoubtedly happen with a bang . Before we started talking about her future hopes, she spoke about how she began making music in the first place. “My dad always played music around the house, 24/7, so I kind of had that in my head from young and enjoyed listening to the lyrics and melody and stuff. I went to a private school and all the classes and stuff just did nothing for me, and when we had career day I was just not feeling it. So I kind of just thought what is it I actually love doing? Music.” After that realisation, Deyah began DJ-ing but it didn’t feel expressive enough, so she turned to poetry and then eventually, rapping. This newfound talent was nurtured at her [then] local community centre in Cardiff. In the early stages, her call-outs for beats were disappointing to say the least, so she purposefully decided to learn how to produce herself. Seeing as she writes and produces the bulk of her music, who better to explain Deyah’s sound than Deyah? “I think I’d say like an alternative R&B kind of conscious lo-fi vibe. I would just describe my music as a reflection of my soul, like a mirror of my soul - I just kind of create whatever’s there. If there’s a bit of Spanish Latin going on then I’ll do that, grime then I’ll do that too, but as of now I’m just kinda doing whatever I feel to do.” I was glad she brought up the Spanish/Latin vibe that peeks its head in her music from time to time, as heard in her El Chapo/Pablo’s Wife freestyle. When I asked her to tell me a little more about that she mentioned that she “went to a university where only 10% of the students were British, all the other students their first language was either Spanish or Portuguese or anything else, people from all over. I was studying to be an assistant pastor for 3 years; you’ll have people in the audience that are Spanish, for example, and don’t speak any English so I’d speak English then try and translate some to Spanish. I wouldn’t say I'm fluent, but I can have conversations in those languages.” Although I was initially surprised, Deyah’s faith is certainly a topic of conversation in her music, especially in her last EP, Care City . She credits that experience to a lot of what goes into her music, “I was atheist then in 2015 I found God like I found my faith and as cliche as it sounds, it’s a journey. So most of my music from the start documents my faith or journey and what I’m feeling towards God or what I’ve learned.” She goes on, “ Care City , unfortunately, is the project that documents my faith being completely shattered which is not great but then the next EP that’s coming out hopefully will be a bit more uptempo and a bit more positive about my faith.” The Care City EP feels really honest albeit a little conversational; I imagine the creative process for a project like that would be easier because she’s talking about things she was going through at the time. To this Deyah explains: “That’s [her music] the only place I can be completely open and raw and honest and that’s why I do that. Does it make the process easier? Yeah because you’re just speaking your truth, but at the same time it’s quite draining because when you’re writing these things you start thinking about them and I don’t want to think about these things. I think it can be quite healing to a degree.” Besides her faith, love of words and need to express herself, she mentioned some artists that have influenced her journey. “The person that I love the most rapper-wise, I love Little Simz, she’s just too much. For her, I feel like she’s just in her own type of lane completely, there are so many songs that I listen to that really help me through my journey. J Cole, Wretch 32, Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Aaliyah, and Missy Elliot. Also, Kirk Franklin - he’s provided some of the gospel vibes.” Ultimate Dinner Party has gained a lot of attention over the past few weeks and after ranking the soups mentioned in the song (Ogbono was not at the top to my relief), we spoke about its rollout and reception so far. “It’s been sick, I think because people are at home they’re more inclined to go on their phones and stuff. It’s made it easier to promote and it’s also easier to contact different radio stations and people with promotions and stuff. So yeah rolling out in this lockdown has made it easier for me. In terms of writing it I didn’t really think too tough about it, I just started writing.” Deyah makes it a point to tell me that the track was actually a freestyle, “what it should say is Ultimate Dinner Party Freestyle , in brackets. There’s no chorus or structure. It’s just me running my mouth for a good 2 minutes and a bit, so it’s not really about much. It’s my mind but just written down.” With the buzz growing around her, I thought it was important to know what Deyah wants her music to do for fans old and new. “I want it to be a safe thing for people to listen to. It saved me numerous times so I basically like to do that, not save people, but make them feel like they’re not as alone as they might feel they are. Also, I want to create a different narrative to the one that we have for women and for men, because I do feel like women feel like they have to be a certain type of way to get a man, and then they get the man and it doesn’t work out and then they feel even worse about themselves. I just want to be able to tell people to be who they are and look how they wanna look and think how you wanna think, pretty much. Deyah’s only getting started and reveals she has a couple of projects lined up over the next few months, including a freestyle EP. We’re looking forward to that and seeing her grow as an artist. Check out Ultimate Dinner Party on all streaming platforms. Previous Item Next Item Her latest single has caught the attention of multiple radio stations and has been slotted into lo-fi playlists across streaming...

Octavian Album Review: Spaceman No one quite knew what to expect from Octavian’s debut mixtape given the fact that he had only released a handful of singles (including Revenge ). What every single had in common was a unique spark of brilliance that distinguished his newfound space on the scene- and Spaceman has solidified that. The-14-track project shows exactly where his ‘one in a million’ sound comes from, as well as his influences- giving us more of an understanding of who Octavian is musically. The rapper’s EP starts off with a bang. Scared serves well as an intro, making use of dainty vocals and strings in the background but the transition into the track Sleep is what everyone seems to be talking about. The heavy drill instrumental wasn’t something I expected but after putting the song on repeat it started to make a lot more sense. The prominent quality that sets Octavian apart from others in his field is his gritty and coarse voice and how he commands it. His vocals compliment the track perfectly. As if his verse wasn’t enough, his thunder was definitely stolen by the featuring artist. “If he didn’t know, now he deffo knows the name Krimbo.” He offers a little more than the average drill rapper spitting about catching opps lacking whilst using the word ‘diligent’ creatively. There’s some real lyrical content and wordplay accompanied by a nice flow. Who am I to judge- like I said, I played it at least three times on my first listen of the mixtape. Since we’re on the topic of features, let’s discuss Break That and Think Twice. Hearing Suspect on Break That was a ‘refreshing’ change as having him on a song always brings another dynamic of hype and pure energy. It’s the exact opposite for Think Twice. A2 has a certain depth to his music and even though he came with melodies instead of straight-up bars, his delivery was emotive and more than suitable for a mixtape outro. I definitely prefer Suspect’s feature to A2’s but it may be due to the fact Octavian performed Think Twice at A2’s concert as an exclusive. I didn’t get the same ‘wow factor’ I initially had with Break That. Lightning incorporates a mixture of previous styles we’ve seen Octavian demonstrate. The song is reminiscent of the off-beat drop on Party Here , that gave off a rap-rave fusion, which is not easy to pull off. Hands also comes to mind with the synthesised auto-tune effect against a slower rhythm at the beginning of the number. This is all testament to the intricate production and composition throughout the tape that supports and embraces his style. The overall vibe emanating from Spaceman is unquestionably positive and promising for the future. Whether it's Octavian's defining adlibs on his tracks or his peculiar and complex flow, we as listeners have become familiar with the London rapper as an emerging artist. From the moment the limelight caught a glimpse of him, he hasn't taken his foot off the gas and this album is the evident fruit of his labour. Previous Item Next Item No one quite knew what to expect from Octavian’s debut mixtape given the fact that he had only released a handful of singles (including...

In Conversation With: Eugy When his father became a pastor, Eugy found himself enamoured with music from a very young age thanks to his participation in the church choir. He credits both his father and uncle as early influences in his musical journey . “My dad needed people to play for the choir. He got us lessons from one of my uncles who was a very great musician. So, my brothers and I learned how to play the keyboard/piano, drums, and bass guitar. I learned that from about nine or ten years of age.” Eugy goes on to attribute a great deal of his musical formative years to his time in secondary school. During this era, Grime was overwhelmingly the voice of youth culture in London and its influence led him to begin making music rooted in rap. However, in 2015 Eugy decided to alter the kind of music he was making. “I was still rapping but I was mixing it with my mother tongue twi.” Eugy would regularly post freestyles on YouTube and Instagram which to his surprise caught the attention of Afrobeats star Davido. An opportunity to collaborate with Davido arose, which saw the two link up with their single titled Chance . Remarkably, the song only being Eugy’s second afrobeats record still managed to prove itself to be a catalyst for what was ahead. In 2016, Eugy would find himself working alongside another well-esteemed Nigerian singer and songwriter in Mr Eazi. The pair conjured two undeniable hits in Body and Dance For Me and in doing so, helped to firmly establish Eugy as someone to be taken seriously. After 6 years in the industry, Eugy is in game mode. He refuses to rest on his laurels or any previous success he has attained. He is a man on a mission as he sought to end 2021 with a bang through the release of his new 6- track EP Home Run . The title of the EP is an ode to his decision to return home and head to Ghana in early 2020; a decision inspired by a desire to create music that felt more organic and authentic. “For me, it was like, how am I making African music and I haven’t gone back to the motherland and really soaked in what’s going on? As someone that is trying to fly the flag for a section of African music, it’s only right I go back home and really set my foot for a while.” Having intended to only spend two months in Ghana, Eugy found himself enchanted by the country that he once called home. So much so that he spent eight months in West Africa where he was able to spend time with his artistic peers, and most importantly discover who he is as a person as well as a musician. This intent is displayed across the EP, where Eugy joined forces with some of Ghana’s best and most promising artists including Kuame Eugene, Efya, Medikal and My Touch collaborator Chop Daily. The EP opens with his anthem-like single Show Me The Light featuring Jay Bahd. The track serves as a street anthem, with a message about the struggle that comes with the lifestyle and not being afraid to seek help when you’re at your lowest: “ Me I no struggle for blessings, Father God show me the light ”. BomBomBom serves as a staple dance song that one has come to expect from Eugy, partnered up with Dancegod Lloyd to give his fans something for the club . A feel-good song that is certain to get people moving when it’s played... Osu Freestyle does what it says on the tin as Eugy and Medikal tackle the beat with a gritty, bars only approach. It can certainly be deemed as a return to Eugy’s UK roots, prior to the days of him making Afrobeats. The remix to My Touch closes the EP and features Dancehall musician, Skillibeng who has garnered notoriety in many quarters as one of Jamaica’s hottest young acts. Eugy reflects: “In Ghana, we have a very big dancehall community. We have a very keen love for our Jamaican counterparts. With ‘My Touch’ doing what it’s doing, I thought this is a nice bonus for some of our dancehall fans in Ghana.” Despite the EP predominantly featuring artists of Ghanian origin, it is very much a multifaceted tape that features a range of influences and sounds from afrobeats to rap, drill to dancehall. Eugy is someone that is firm in his ability to tackle music of any kind and uses ‘Home Run’ as an opportunity to put his skill set on a platform to be taken in. “As a musician, I’m not scared to try new things. I know some people say ‘Eugy, this is your sound’ or 'what is your sound?’ I just want people to accept Eugy for Eugy. My greatest strength is my ability to jump on any sound. I dare someone to send me a rock beat.” Having successfully launched his EP, as well as appearing as a guest for Wizkid’s Made in Lagos London tour, Eugy has shown a determination to use 2021 as a springboard to achieve more this year... “Wizkid was mad. It was mad to see the effect my music can have on people after all these years. It’s motivational.” The Home Run EP is a personal reminder of where Eugy found himself in life prior to and during the making of the project. It tells the story of attempting to reach each base in their life and career, with the final base being home. Without returning to where it all started and truly engrossing himself in who he is and where he is from, there is no home run. Previous Item Next Item When his father became a pastor, Eugy found himself enamoured with music from a very young age thanks to his participation in the church...

Partying While Black in a Pandemic The global pandemic highlighted the demand for black events and the dearth of events and spaces, especially throughout Summer into the Autumn season. Recess and DLT both selling out Wembley Box Park over bank holiday weekend is proof of that. Various DJ’s, Partygoers and event organisers tell us how they’ve navigated partying in this “new normal”, the challenges they’ve faced and the joys of being a Black Brit. Super Midz The pandemic has radically altered every aspect of our lives; our perspectives, how we work, and on a social level, how we party. We became so used to being inside that our social batteries finish a lot faster compared with pre-pandemic says International Dj, Super Midz, “ people get really tired really quickly hence why day parties have taken off and taken over nights. People are rarely partying till 4am nowadays. It’s the day party sensation. When people get tired you start to think you’re playing the wrong songs but it’s just because people are worn out, we’re used to being in our houses all the time. People just want to finish at 11/12, that’s why day parties have become so popular. But the vibe at day parties is great, people are so happy to be able to party normally again”. The pandemic also changed how frequently we listen to new music, studies showed that people listen to the same songs for comfort, and we did a lot of comfort listening during the lockdowns. As Super Midz puts it “It’s also hard to gauge what people want to hear because songs get forgotten about really early. You want to play the new tunes but nostalgia has people in a chokehold”. As black people, we are often reminded of our precarious position in this country; whether it be politically, financially or socially. Black nightlife is bourgeoning but is still facing obstacles from institutional racism.. Even when a venue is secured, it’s not without hiccups. Recess Founder, Jojo Sonubu took to social media to detail the racism and poor logistical help from The Cause in Tottenham . As Super Midz puts it, “London blacks have an obsession with Shoreditch, I don’t know why it’s the go-to for events when it’s not good for us, the venues aren’t good. A lot of the venues that are offered to us are sub-par. I DJed at one event in Shoreditch in July and their AC doesn’t work. What does that even mean?! Or another venue had DJ equipment from 2009”. Two Twos podcast For many of us, the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns gave us more time and pushed us to try new things. For Two Twos podcast hosts, Rose and Nana, it’s what pushed them to restart their events company and start throwing parties again, “ The pandemic really shook us and everything really aligned. Life is too short, let’s be moving”. They went back to the drawing board and decided to create a queer black event, “ We became more aligned with what sort of event that we wanted, platform. We had to take it back and figure out what we stand for and what we wanted to bring to our community”. Rose and Nana face a unique challenge of experiencing both homophobia and racism when it comes to venue mangers, “ We have to deal with homophobia and racism. The venue might be fine with it being a LGBTQ+ event, and then once they hear the music you’re playing, they’ll move mad” . After having found a venue managed by a black, queer woman, their process has made a lot easier. The post-pandemic demand for their events were crazy, with their event selling out The demand post-pandemic has been crazy. With their event selling out and people quite literally begging for tickets, there is a need for more black events. Jennifer – Party-goer 1. Generally how have you found partying in a pandemic? I would say you know, from my experience last year and this year I’ve not found it very much different to be honest with you. I’m a party-goer, like i’m a party gal, so urm a lot of the vibe that I experience is because of (not even trying to be mad here) but it’s because of me like I just come lit and so I have a good time. So maybe thats why I dont notice a big difference. I would say the main difference I see is that most events are really full now, and I see a lot of events selling out a lot quicker than normal. I see a lot more people out - that’s the main thing I would say has changed due to the pandemic. 2. What sort of restrictions or challenges have you faced? In terms of restrictions the only downer is no night tube so it really restricts me in terms of coming back home; and now a lot of the issue with booking cabs home are really long. That doesn’t really stifle my going out, but it does. You just get a bit annoyed when you’re paying £80 for a £30 like its annoying, but other than transport-wise nothing’s really restricted me. 3. What are the similarities and differences between partying pre and post pandemic? A lot more people are out which is cool, you know it’s nice to see everyone out. I would say like a little annoying thing now is just like a lot of people that dont even party/that dont even like partying they’re all out. And its just stiffing up the place. They’re just there standing around, so yeah a lot of the vibe from like other people isn’t as it was before. Before, a lot of the time you’ll go to certain motives and you know you get the same vibes, it's reliable, but now its just packed and not vibes from everywhere. I still feel like a lot of people still enjoy themselves and I do see that so thats cool. 4. How has the pandemic highlighted the need for black spaces for you? Yeah I feel like it has highlighted the need for black spaces. But I do feel like that need had been highlighted pre-pandemic. I would say like since 2018/2017 there’s been a big need for that: black spaces, black events, and things like that. Also I do feel like especially coming from London and living here we are spoilt for choice in terms of black events. There’s so many so chose from I feel like we do have it. 5. Do you reckon the crowds/vibes are better because we were locked up for so long? Urm I feel like the vibes since lockdown they’re good. They’re not worse but I feel like, like I said in my previous comment, right now we’re experiencing a lot of people that don’t even go out go out so thats kind of a dampener because they’re not even here to get lit. On the other hand, we’re experiencing people that would normally come out and be stiff actually partying and seemingly enjoying themselves so I do feel like it’s brought out good and bad I would say. 6. Pre pandemic were you house parties over clubs & has that changed? You know what, the main thing that the pandemic’s really changed for me is that I'm doing less clubbing and when I say clubbing I mean going to an actual club and actually doing up club nights. Clubbing was a bit bigger for me before because there were less parties, but now we’ve got more parties like Recess, DLT, Pitch, all of these black events happen all the time now. You don't even have time to fill your weekend with a club because there’s always a black motive so I would say thats not changed my preference but my preference has gone towards like black parties basically. 7. Any pandemic bank holiday reflections? In terms of bank holiday reflections, I would say I’m just feeling overwhelmed and proud of the back community just because we’ve accomplished so much. I saw a lot of events going on this weekend and all of them sold out - literally a lot of events were selling out. So it was a great weekend for black people and I feel like it was a turning point and I hope that these venues are able to see us for who we are. Just fun-loving partygoers rather than ‘rowdy’ black people, so that it’s less uptight when we’re going to these parties because I do see a difference when I go and pay with a more mixed crowd in comparison with a black crowd. So yeah I would say there’s still a bit of prejudice for the way that we’re perceived but I hope that the bank holiday kinda proved them wrong. Previous Item Next Item The global pandemic highlighted the demand for black events and the dearth of events and spaces, especially throughout Summer into the...

This Week In Theatre: Shifters and The Big Life Between Windrush dreamers and two ill-timed lovers, this week’s theatre trips were touching, funny and romantic. Shifters - Bush Theatre ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Starring Heather Agyepong (School Girls, The Power) and Tosin Cole (Doctor Who, One Love) Shifters tackles the old-age trope of ‘right person, wrong time’ through the lens of Des and Dre. With dream lighting which carefully reflects the moods of both characters, Benedict Lombe’s debut play examines the epics of young love in a concise one-hour 40-minute run. Heather and Tosin have stunning chemistry, seamlessly carrying this weighty two-hander through humour and passionate monologues. They soften one another, challenge each other and in their youth, perform a dance akin to peacocking; their early love blossoming on stage. Lombe’s writing is intimate in the romantic moments, playful in the humorous scenes and left audience members gasping with each revelation Des and Dre peel back about one another. It looks into their backgrounds and cultural differences with care, highlighting their differences and similarities. Des is British Congolese, the daughter of a middle-class neurologist whereas Dre is British Nigerian, living with his Grandma. She has dreams of becoming an artist, his dream, to be a restaurateur. Both experience trauma; Heather and Tosin hold each other up seamlessly in these moments, delivering emotive, rousing dialogue the way only lovers can. Des and Dre are laid bare through Alex Berry’s staging which was stripped back and lends itself easily to any one of the scenes our couple find themselves in. There’s no ‘real’ set, instead, the sum of their relationship can be confined to a few boxes, which serves as storage for props alongside seating for the more intimate conversations. It could have been easy to get lost in the back and forth of Shifters ageing and de-ageing process, but it’s surprisingly easy to keep up with. With every age shift you can see Tosin and Heather leaning into the emotions that come with the new storylines. Shifters is ultimately for fans of long-lost loves, what-could-have-been and spinning the block. Shifters runs at Bush Theatre till 30 March . The Big Life - Stratford East ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Originating out of Jamaica and inspired by Louisiana Rhythm and Blues, Ska music has always had significance in the UK music scene. Giving a voice to this sound as well as Caribbeans of the Commonwealth, The Big Life is a revival 20 years in the making, inspired by Shakespeare’s Love's Labour's Lost. Starring Nathanael Campbell, Khalid Daley, Karl Queensborough and Ashley Samuels as Bennie, Dennis, Lennie and Ferdy these men are taking London in their stride. Their counterparts show up the form of Sybil, Mary, Zulikela and Kathy (Gabrielle Brooks, Leanne Henlon, Rachel John and Juliet Agnes), four no nonsense women who won’t be so easily charmed. The Big Life gives life to even larger on stage personalities with each cast member tackling their individual songs with amazing vocals. The group numbers are humorous and every cast member has an innate sense of when to hold back and pull no punches during their performances. Infusing further humour into the play is Eastenders’ actress Tameka Empson, who plays fourth-wall breaker, Mrs Aphrodite. Empson also serves as the play’s writer alongside lyricist Paul Sirett. Empson’s character is full of appreciation for the Windrush Generation, a passionate line is expelled about the ongoing fight for compensation but she never keeps the mood somber for long, with joyful audience participation theatres like Stratford East are synonymous for. Despite the racism and intolerance faced by our eight leads, they still overcome with grace and dignity at each turn. Through job refusals and familial deaths, they highlight just how strong members of the Commonwealth had to be when coming to the ‘motherland’. Well-paced and loads of fun, The Big Life is worth catching before the end of its run on 30 March. It’s proof that twenty years on, the conversations surrounding those who contributed so much to this country are just as relevant. The Big Life runs at Stratford East till 30 March. Previous Item Next Item This Week In Theatre we're reviewing the revival of 20-year-old, The Big Life as well as the debut play Shifters.

Concert review: DVSN From vocals to visuals, dvsn had the whole night on lock. Both Daniel Daley and Nineteen85 individually stressed their importance as part of one of the biggest R&B duos around. Although Daniel is seen as the face of the group, both artists played specific roles in making the concert special. Nineteen85, the man behind all the beats and samples, opened the performance with a diligent DJ set. He engaged the fans with some R&B oldies as well as throwing in music from his OVO labelmates. Only when the crowd was brimming with excitement did Daniel Daley come out and perform With Me . What I respected (as well as others, I'm sure) is that after finishing his opening set, Nineteen85 went to control the concert from the booth with the other sound technicians. It gave everyone present an insight into how they work so harmoniously as a group. The participation from the audience was garagantuan, and this was well within expectations. Dvsn's music as a whole is incredibly relatable and empathetic and so for many, hearing it live only intensified the connection with the tracks. This meant that there were no standout songs, or better yet, every track had a standout quality to it. The records from their debut album, Sept 5th , echoed around Kentish Town Forum that bit more than the ones on Morning After but the songs were very well received all the same. The difference came when some tracks were broken down at the end to their sample, where he would sing the original song the melody was taken from. The end of Too Deep smoothly transitioned into So Anxious by Ginuwine; and despite the fact it was not sampled, Think About Me seamlessly passed into a passionate rendition of U Got it Bad . All three back-up singers had voices that rivalled Daley's in range, power and depth. They were spurred on by the spectators to carry out runs that showed just how talented they were. One of the supporting singers, Shantel May, stepped forward to execute a flawless cover of 1+1 by Beyoncé, before performing her debut single- Back n Forth . The reception for both songs was electric and she definitely left a lasting impression on the viewers. The screen at the back of the stage added a story-like element to the show. Each number had its own video on loop that would represent the feelings expressed in the lyrics (sometimes subbed at the bottom of the screen). A prime example of this is Mood , where a romantic atmosphere was set in the background with candles and a woman undressing. Scenes from the promotional video for their second album were used, that featured children watching the sunset from an empty pool. This was a personal favourite for me. The video captured the essence of the song it was paired with. There were also end credits after the concert, accompanied by the record- Angela , that gave a cinematic finish to the visuals that were displayed all night. If I had to summarise the gig: it was emotive, in every sense of the word. Dvsn evoked a response from everyone, regardless of the song and the feelings that went with it. Seeing them live was an encounter I cannot wait to experience again. Previous Item Next Item From vocals to visuals, dvsn had the whole night on lock. Both Daniel Daley and Nineteen85 individually stressed their importance as part...

poet's library A Anonymous Paula Abu Lanaire Aderemi Timilehin Alade Andrea Aliseda Anneliese Amoah B Jorgie Bain Halle Bertie Amy Boyd ​ C Venita Campbell Ridgeway Cole ​ ​ D Victoria Daka Ephraim Daytona Chi-chi Dikeocha ​ E Elizabeth Eretusi ​ ​ ​ F Z.a Fontaine ​ ​ ​ G Geoffrey Sandy G Remi Georgia ​ H Sasha Harper Taylor Hunsberger ​ ​ J Tianna Johnson ​ ​ ​ K Mandy Kintuka Jay Kophy ​ ​ L Amara Lawrence Larissa Lorracher ​ ​ O Ope Oduwole Tomi Oyemakinde ​ ​ P Thara Popoola Akachi Priscilla ​ ​ R Ray Oliver Redmond ​ ​ s Brittani Samuel Chanan Sharpe Deborah Somoye ​ T Thandeka ​ ​ ​ Y Ade 'xuestlove' Yusuf Warda Yussuf ​ ​

In Conversation With: Vague Detail The concept of an oxymoron is puzzling in itself. The fact that two opposites can work alongside each other harmoniously is something that can be quite hard to pull off, especially when it comes to art: where it is common for ideals and perspectives to clash. But when the notion is applied to a producer-singer duo with a bond outside of music that supersedes their differences, it can lead to a moment of brilliance. Enter Vague Detail: consisting of the sultry and deep-toned R&B singer Kaleem Taylor, and the enigmatic versatile composer and producer The Code. The Floor: I love a good oxymoron. What made you come together and title yourselves together, as well as the EP Vague Detail? The Code: I’d say that’s what it is, to an extent. Myself as ‘The Code,’ I’m not there as much to see - that’s my description from my perspective. Whereas Kaleem is the detailed side. His music is very detailed, the way he writes his music is very precise and I guess I’m the opposite to that visually as well. So it kind of just felt like the right name. I mean Kaleem just said it and it made sense. Kaleem Taylor: I guess you can say we met in the middle. Even when it comes to our timelines - we’ve been separately working for a while but we essentially started the journey together. We’ve had a chemistry between each other for years, even outside of music. So it wasn’t really a thing of ‘let’s try and find this space or make this work’. It was literally a space of ‘let’s be free’ and we did whatever we do. There’s no rules and no other standard to base what we’re doing on. So it wasn’t really about finding a balance. It needed to be something that felt new, felt honest and felt fun. Their unique blend of mystery, seductive vocals and enchanting lyrics gave birth to a 5-track EP that leaves listeners ultimately wanting more. The duo aptly navigate through the unknown with their talents as the guide and explore concepts like heartbreak, loss and love from multiple perspectives. The greatest feat in the depth of their EP is how much the artists leave to interpretation, and how much those theories can differ and vary. Given how much is packed into 5 tracks, do either of you have favourite tracks, or one in particular that really resonates with you? Kaleem: We haven’t picked a favourite between us, even when we’ve spoken about it. If anything at times, it’s like whatever we listen to we’re like - yeah this is crazy. It’s like we are attached to that song whilst we are making it like, this is that vibe. Especially when we are in that space. I feel like it’s a good thing not to have a favourite in a way. We’ve been able to see that in the response we’ve had because it’s been different. People have had different favourites. So I think that’s a sign that we did the right thing. When we were making it we were always trying to switch it up in a way. I guess depending on how you’re feeling at the time you might have a different favourite song. The Code: For me, it’s all no rules and no ceilings, no restrictions. You just do whatever comes natural and we’re lucky it turned out the way it did from that perspective. We just came to the studio and we started this song, started that song and it just turned out the way it did. We’re grateful for the fact it came together at the end of it, you know? Although Kaleem and The Code had trouble selecting favourites from an artist’s outlook, my struggle to pick came from an equal appreciation for every track. Broken swiftly set the tone in just under two minutes, in a way that I can only depict with another oxymoron: pleasantly eerie. Nobody Else layers itself on top of the vibe already created in the first track, whilst showing another side to their sound which comes across more uptempo but equally as emotive. Anuka’s presence on How Does It Feel is subtle but impactful, introducing a new element through the backing vocals before sonically stripping back their sound on Anchor - where the lyrics are raw and almost confessional. Rounding up the EP in the same way it was opened, Gone holds similar qualities to Broken as it acts as an accumulation of the feelings and melodies throughout the project and compresses them into a final rendition. In short, listeners are just as spoiled for choice as they are. It’s funny that you say that it just came together and everything just fell into place because but the body of work seems deliberately cohesive. Was there an element of making everything fit together or, like you said, it just came together? The Code: The theme kind of fell into place as well. Once we finished the third of the fourth song, we actually listened and looked back at the lyrics and it told a story. And we were like wow it actually just happened that way. All the stars kind of aligned if you know what I mean. So I say everything consistently fell into place with us just putting ourselves out there and into the music and being creative and not worrying about the process too much. Just going for it. There is an overall mellow nature to the project, accompanied by either an eclectic beat pattern or an absence of percussion altogether. Their performances throughout were complementary when it came to both production and vocals, allowing for an audio experience where critique is few and far between. The general expectation from fans- often the source of criticism- that usually comes from creating music as esteemed artists, was trumped by the surprise collaboration and drop. From the seamless addition of Anuka’s feature, to the strong ideas and motifs surrounding the EP, Vague Detail can almost be summarised by a mix of serendipity and knack for creating music. What they have created is clearly a taster for what’s to come but as half of the act is a ‘riddle wrapped in an enigma hidden in a mystery’, I can only guess that what the pairing will follow up with will match or exceed the strong foundations they have already established. Previous Item Next Item The concept of an oxymoron is puzzling in itself. The fact that two opposites can work alongside each other harmoniously is something...

Review: Creed III Sequels and prequels are always tricky business in the world of film and television. Especially when you’re handing the keys to an actor turned director. The business becomes trickier when said actor is stepping into his directorial debut. Yet, handing Michael B Jordan the directorial keys to the Creed franchise has proven to be a masterstroke. Creed III is gripping from start to finish. It leaves you wondering what more Jordan has to offer as a filmmaker going forward. Jordan’s character Adonis is reunited with a childhood friend in Damian "Dame" Anderson played by the mesmerising Johnathan Majors. What an actor! A genuine star. It’s been quite the start to 2023 for Majors, having stolen the show in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania . Some of the film's finer moments are where Majors utters one liners. Or doesn't even say a word. His mannerisms, charisma, and presence do all the talking. Adonis is forced to acknowledge his past actions. Whatever we do as people can have consequences and a major impact on those closest to us. Despite Creed III and the Rocky franchise being a film about boxing, that isn’t the film's major strength. The core of the story is the interpersonal relationships between two characters. This is what drives their determination. The need to fight. Not for money, fame or championship belts but a lost love between two estranged brothers. Micheal B Jordan’s adoration for anime and its impact on this film is evident. The third act fight scene was epic. It was fun. It was dramatic. It was tense. Moreover, anime's influence on the scene was a delight. Jordan took a risk with his stylistic approach. He approached the fight scenes with the purpose of displaying Adonis and Damian at their most vulnerable. Themes of brotherhood, bonds and promises are pertinent in these moments. This helps to raise the stakes of what could have been an archetypical, third act stand off. The anime threads trickle into the emotional dynamic between Damian and Adonis. This the thumping heartbeat of the film. An issue I did have with the film were some of its other emotive beats which didn’t hit the mark. Michael B. Jordan isn’t a bad actor. He does receive a lot of unwarranted criticism. But, I believe he is limited. Some of the poignant moments with Adonis and his mother didn't work the way I believe had been envisaged. Furthermore, the film does ask us to ignore some of the more fantastical elements of the story. The story moves from point A to B to C swiftly and whilst it’s understandable, it stuck with me throughout. With all that being said, this is an exciting directorial debut for Michael B Jordan. The story doesn’t try to over elaborate or complicate. Flowing throughout are relatable tropes and themes, coupled with some excellent action scenes which provide the perfect tonal balance to the viewing experience. Creed III is funny, thrilling and heartwarming and it’s a film that should certainly be watched in the cinema. ⅘ stars Previous Item Next Item Handing Michael B Jordan the directorial keys to the Creed franchise has proven to be a masterstroke.