Currently Listening To: sir Was

This song feels like a breath of fresh air. Take a listen to “a Minor Life”, the debut single from City Slang’s latest signing sir Was.

sir Was is the musical journey of Joel Wästberg, documenting a wealth of unique & idiosyncratic influences. Growing up in the tiny village of Frillesås on the western coast of Sweden, he had an early career as a jazz saxophonist that led to studying in Gothenburg (where he lives now) and an influential time at the University of Kwasulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. He immersed himself in discovering pan-African rhythms & sounds, traveling through Mozambique and Zimbabwe, finding musical inspiration all along the way. The result is uncommon and refreshing, “intricate without feeling complex, with driving beats and dynamically varied instrumentation weaving throughout”.

“a Minor Life” features colourful flourishes of bagpipes & recorder sailing around a core of syncopated modular synths. A “marriage of organic instrumentation, synthetic sounds and head-bobbing beats”, sounding beautifully emotive and atmospheric.  Reminds me of my favourite parts of Youth Lagoon.

Take a look at “a Minor Life”.

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