For this particular edition of our infamous Dark & Stormy series we have the usual brilliance but showcase new artists: Andria Rose, Kaja, Michelle O Faith along with the up & coming and the great. also with a very special appearance by michael kiwanuka! Drink it all up.
Words & curation by Keith, artwork by Mick Clarke, as ever!
Here at The Song Sommelier we do like to support up & coming talent. You never know how it might blossom but sometimes you just have the feeling that it will. It might be why, on this particular edition of our infamous Dark & Stormy series (Vol. 6!) we’ve gone a step further and formalised the process, by introducing Showcase, a small but beautifully formed slot of three tracks (good things come in threes in our humble experience) by very new artists that in all likelihood you have never heard before, but hopefully you will again, simply because you should. That might be why we’ve featured VC Pines on four out of our six volumes of Dark & Stormy. His music as a unique sound to anything else out there currently on the scene. He has been working all the usual angles and at some stage, we would imagine the pay-off will come.
Not every troubadour with a guitar can sound unique, but when they do, it is a great thing indeed. It was during the beginnings phase I first saw & heard Michael Kiwanuka. Fast on his way these days to being a British soul global superstar, I first saw him humbly perform a few songs at an industry event hosted by Universal Music back in 2011, prior to the release of his debut album. Michael was introduced very much as the label’s next big thing. Indeed, he supported Adele on tour that year, and played with her at the iTunes Festival (hey Apple Music, bring back the festival it was great!). Kiwanuka then won the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll and the bandwagon was rolling.
Still, I’m not sure if everything quite went according to plan. His momentum stuttered a little in the years that followed, something perhaps to be thankful for. I saw him again at a small arts festival in Soho in 2015 where he was very frank about the struggle to live up to the expectations that can be set by early ‘industry buzz’. He had had a bad experience as a guest musician on a Kanye record and then scrapped an entire second album, Night Songs - a shame must have been some great Dark & Stormy tracks on there!
Recently he told the UK Guardian: “I was kind of lost. “I was thinking of giving up. You get to the point where you’ll try anything.” We can all be grateful that he did. His latest album KIWANUKA arrived fully formed. Superb songs, excellent production and breathtaking scope. So few albums these days are immersive in the way it is. A real start-to-finish listen. The last encounter I had with Michael was personal. He had been booked to play a small industry showcase (another one) in Stockholm, and before proceedings got underway I found him stood alone at the bar surrounded by a hoard of industry executives that did not pay him any attention. Since a brief encounter with Macca that left me scarred for life, I don’t hesitate to approach artists in such situations, just to say a polite hello if nothing else. “You’ve come a long way” I said (all fatherly, like). “Do you think’? He replied, “How come?”
We talked all too briefly, then. About that first showcase, the Soho appearance and his latest, highly successful record (his second album Love & Hate went Platinum which I believe means it sold a lot). We were just getting to meat of the subject I really was referring to – his accomplished guitar playing – when we were unfortunately interrupted and he was whisked away to meet Swedish tech royalty for a pre-performance talk. Shame. I hope he wasn’t asked about data and that stuff, as I got the feeling he was up for some good guitar chat. And, man can he play that thing. Resigned to another conversation with a music legend that might have been (I could write a small book), I looked down at my drink. There beyond it on the floor was a message from Michael - an (orange I think) plectrum. I picked it up and took it home. I played my guitar with it a few times before I lost it. It didn’t seem to work very well without being in the right fingers, but there you go. That’s how magic works I guess.
On writing this, I’d just heard the news of his cancelled UK tour due to larynx problems. Again what a shame. He is undoubtedly on the cusp of being a superb ‘real deal’ live performer, something the industry needs more of. A legend in the making, from humble beginnings.
His support act on the now postponed tour was Celeste. She is someone from the same camp. Humility first, superstar legend status next. Celeste is back on Dark & Stormy (of course she is!), upping the pace just a little with the new track Stop This Flame. Her trajectory seems something much more carefully orchestrated – literally not putting a foot wrong thus far, from her quiet performance at last year’s Great Escape in Brighton to the Brits stage in less than a year. We’ve been fans since first hearing Fatherson, and standby in anticipation of what’s to come. So here goes, alongside Celeste, Michael, Lianne La Havas, 070 Shake, the late great Mac Miller and the mysterious SAULT, here are our three showcase artists you can find mixed in amongst the fabulous genre-defying superstars assembled on this volume.
SHOWCASE
Andria Rose is a young soul singer from Texas who has played Sofar Sounds and has a couple of singles up on the streaming platforms including French Perfume – which seems perfectly formed for D&S: moody, dreamy, sultry, drinkable.
Michelle O Faith’s music is pretty unique. Dramatic and emotional in a way influenced by her classical background, Michelle is bordering on the avant-garde but staying listenable. It’s just a bit different and there isn’t much wrong with different here.
KAJA is originally from Poland, now based in London. The singer and songwriter’s first single Senses is just great - and was scheduled on this list until her latest song Burned Out dropped the day we published. It was written and produced in Sweden with Andreas Wiberg. The quality of the songwriting is one to watch here without a doubt.
So there we go, 32 (mostly) new tracks to put on and do the usual – mix a rum cocktail, stare out of the window and contemplate what might have been but more importantly, what is.
If COVID-19 (not one of those new hard to type artist names but very much the viral thing of the moment) is something that crosses your mind in this contemplation then do yourself a favour, immerse yourself in D&S Volume 6 by playing in order, and appreciate those segues. The order of things is important to us here at TSS, which is why we strongly suggest you sip, but never skip. It is also probably why we keep on finishing these playlists with Michael Kiwanuka tracks, in this case Final Days, which is not intended to alarm you but bring you to the point of absolute resignation:
Fire up Spotify and go to Settings, Playback, Crossfade = set to 10 seconds. (Or preferred streaming service without this cool feature!).
Press play.
Mix Dark & Stormy: ice, lime slice, mint garnish, ginger beer. No rum. Just kidding, dark rum.
Turn up volume.
Stare out of window and sip.
Now take it from us, you are going to be just fine.