Benny first erupted onto the UK music scene in November 2020 with his single “Paradise”. His debut EP Honey Rum shortly followed which captured the attention of Notion Magazine, who described him as “one to watch for 2021” and Rickie Haywood-Williams of BBC Radio One said he was “one of the UK’s rising stars”. Benny also caught the attention of Hot Press, Highsnobiety, and COLORS.

Earlier this year the singer was awarded the MOBO Help Musicians Grant to help him drive his career forward. The Help Musicians charity was set up to help artists and give them extra support during crucial moments of their careers. They support artists who are just starting out and those who have been creating for several years. The artist said he was “delighted” by the news and said, “I’m gonna use this money to bring you a super potent new batch of music.”

The new single is taken from Benny’s upcoming EP which is set to be released in November this year. A press release revealed that each track from the release will be accompanied by a visualiser and unique artwork inspired by the 1970s. Atlas worked with creative director Sebastian Miller on the series. Miller has also worked with the likes of Kojey Radical, Oliver Malcolm and Manchester rapper, Bugzy Malone.

His first release of 2022, the artist describes “Let You Know” as “a declarative love song that wrestles between the themes of temptation and true love. It is written to cast away any doubts that can arise in a healthy relationship, and consolidate the trust that has already built. I like to draw parallels between love and the universe, and this song plays with the notion that serendipity goes further and beyond human choice.”

Before its release, Benny took to his social media to share the single artwork with fans and the caption told his followers that “it feels good to be back!” He went on to say “been a little while on the sidelines; life, indecision and stinky arse time wasters all contributed to the delay. One thing that never stopped was the music making. Loads coming In the next chapter.”

“Let You Know” is out now on all streaming platforms. Follow this link to listen.

The COLORS series, a product of the German-based ColorsxStudios, is the ideal platform for an artist like Skiifall, whose golden years are soon to come. The platform is unique for their wide variety of artists from all modern genres and styles. On their website, this ethos is stressed: “In the context of an increasingly fragmented and saturated scene we seek to provide clarity and calm, offering a minimalistic stage to shine a spotlight on the artists and give them the opportunity to present their music without distraction. All colors, no genres.”

The series, which features artists solo against a monochrome background, is unique in providing the bare minimum for a music video, simply featuring the artist(s), some musical equipment, and little else. Rather than NPR’s Tiny Desk series that features artists atop a cluttered backdrop and foreground, and BBC’s Live Lounge which mimics a live concert, the COLORS shows force the viewer to focus only on the music and the monochrome backdrop that typifies the aura (hence the COLORS name).

Also unlike other live music channels on YouTube, COLORS offers the videos up on streaming platforms, with each performance spawning its own single. The shows potential to launch careers is anything but a speculative remark; Chartmetric researched the growth of particular artists after their featuring on COLORS, showing that artists who featured on the platform averaged a 3.5% growth after the feature. In fact, Mahalia is quoted as saying COLORS was the moment that changed my whole career”, speaking to TIME. Up next on the platform is Dominican-Italian singer YEИDRY alongside Lous and the Yakuza.

Listen to Skiifall’s 2021 EP WOIIYOIE TAPES Vol. 1 below:

The single written by J Warner and James himself holds a relaxing groove throughout, exploring themes of patience in love and relationships. Production was handled by Louis Mattrs, who has collaborated with James before on multiple tracks including his hit ‘Until Morning’ which propelled the two into the limelight with aid from COLORS. Additional production credits include Canadian producer STINT, whose discography includes placements from the likes of NAO, Sabrina Claudio, Gallant and Joji. Hourglass also released alongside a ‘Movement Visual’ for the track directed by Cam Turnbull with choreography and performance by Nqobile Danseur.

James originally gained recognition in 2018 by featuring on the German YouTube channel COLORS, a space dedicated to providing a platform for upcoming artists in R&B/hip-hop and beyond through live performances. James’ performance of his slow ballad Until Morning has since amassed over 24million views on the channel, catapulting him into the channels most popular uploads among other huge artists including Daniel Caesar, Jorja Smith and Gunna. This single led to his sophomore EP of the same title, a four track venture that would open the doors for many future collaborations for his third EP. ‘Overture’ arrived in 2020, featuring production from EDM talent turned hip-hop wiz Kenny Beats, and dance/pop producer SG Lewis. It is with that that we arrive at James’ debut album rollout, with the third single Hourglass adding to the roster of singles including the sophisticated ‘Somewhere, Out There’ and the dream collaboration ‘Come To Me’ with neo-soul legend Musiq Soulchild.

Stream the new single below in light of his debut project.

Discussing the release of ‘Organic Rust’ in a press statement, Alfa explained both the meaning of the song and the album title: “In the UK version of Blackjack the ‘Bring Backs’ Rule means you can’t celebrate your win until the next round is over, ‘Organic Rust’ is a song about being at odds with the idea of success and how that can lead to apathy.”

Indeed, the song borders on nihilism, opening with the lines: “Serious face cos it’s really a race/ Trying to stabilise while my health deteriorates.” These personal thoughts slowly morph and expand into existentialist reflections as his rap progresses, culminating in Alfa’s final thought: “When it all gives way and I’ve had enough/ I got a few words for the man above/ When I’m Organic Rust, trust/ Can it just…/ …turn to Organic Rust?”

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In the COLORS SHOW performance of the song, Alfa sits alone with an electric piano and a microphone. Notably, the melancholic tone of the track is at odds with the pink room that the people at COLORS chose to put him in, a disjunction that was probably intentional. Alfa’s monotonous delivery and deadpan expression similarly enhance the song’s nihilistic charm.

The pianist, producer and MC has an extensive catalogue of music, ranging from sprawling ten-minute jazz cuts to lo-fi hip-hop tracks. ‘Organic Rust’ falls somewhere in the middle of the two, as a track that overlays minor jazz piano runs onto ethereal downtempo hip-hop production. Whilst talking about his previously released single ‘Run Outs’ in a press statement, he seems to suggest that this sort of blend is the result of a conscious effort: “I used to think of making beats and playing with a band as separate worlds until I realised I was always trying to achieve the same thing. Making the music I want to make.”

‘Organic Rust’ similarly dissolves the border between these two musical worlds. Whilst jazz and hip-hop have a long-standing history with one another, Alfa’s music really explores how the two genres can continue to develop together. Combining conscious lyricism with contemporary jazz sensibilities, the Newham-raised sensation has put himself at the forefront of London’s jazz renaissance.

Watch Alfa Mist’s performance of ‘Organic Rust’ for COLORS below:

This is the first new music the artist has released in five years, since her previous 2015 album ‘Blood’. Already at 70,000 Spotify streams, La Havas balances belting choruses and sweet sounding verses with a soul-inspired track. ‘Bittersweet’ premiered as Annie Mac’s ‘Hottest Record’ on BBC Radio 1, and was featured on the COLORS YouTube Channel as a live performance from the singer.

Having taken a break from music, La Havas spoke about coming back to it, saying in a press release “I’d forgotten how much I love singing. I’ve tapped into the best and worst parts of me and while I didn’t expect this to be the direction of my new music, it’s my reality and it’s driven by emotion.” There is no information yet regarding any further releases, though fans are hopeful that this is the first song from a potential new album.

Luckily, however, fans can be assured that they can watch Lianne La Havas perform live over the coming months. She will first appear at London’s Barbican tonight (28^th February) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jules Buckley, before performing for Annie Mac Presents at The Moth Club in London on 4^thMarch. Another big show for the artist is Pitchfork Music Festival on 8^th May. The full dates for this year so far are listed below – find tickets on the official Lianne La Havas website.

28/02/2020 – Barbican – London, UK
04/03 – The Moth Club – London, UK (SOLD OUT)
31/03 – The Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA, US (SOLD OUT)
08/05 – Pitchfork Music Festival – Berlin, GER
02/07 – Rock Werchter – Rotselaar, BE
08/08 – Boardmasters Festival – Cornwall, UK

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My new single “Bittersweet” is out tomorrow I love you very much

A post shared by Lianne (@liannelahavas) on Feb 24, 2020 at 11:42am PST

La Havas wrote her first song at age 11, learning guitar when she was 18. She started out singing backing vocals on tour for Paloma Faith, before collaborating with Christian Pincheback as a duo. Her first solo EP was released in 2011 after she signed with Warner Bros. Records the year before. ‘Lost and Found’ was the name of the EP, and La Havas went on to create another EP and two studio albums. Her debut album ‘Is Your Love Big Enough?’ won iTunes Album of the Year, and she has since collaborated with many other musicians, performing at gigs and festivals around the world.