The SlimoWeekly August Update Feat. Soulé, Wendy Godfrey & More

While our summer days are numbered, life seems to be returning to some sort of normality. In the past month we have seen most pubs and restaurants reopen, people have gone abroad on holidays, and there has even been a small number of both indoor and outdoor gigs!

There is still confusion about who can do what but recently an important and unpleasant headline was brought to us surrounding global warming. A map is estimating that sections of Dublin, Cork, Antrim and various other costal counties will be underwater by 2030. This means we can no longer say “it’s for future generations to worry about”, it is our problem so lets make changes in our daily lives no matter how small they are.

For now, we are well and truly living in the moment and trying to hold on to the last strings of summer for as long as possible. Music releases have fizzled a little over the past month but the tracks we have received have been outstanding! Lets dive into our SlimoWeekly playlist and see some new notable Irish releases.

Soulé | ‘Queenish’

Our cover this month brings us warm orange tones from Soulé as she drops new track ‘Queenish’. This track sees the first release for the Irish pop sensation in 2 years and it was well worth the wait. Following in the footsteps of ‘Love Tonight’, ‘Queenish’ is another anthem that is bound to top the charts. We see Soulé blend pop with rap and R&B sounds on this statement track. Not only did Soulé drop a fun dominant track, she also delivered empowerment and confidence in the music video for ‘Queenish’. We already knew she was a talented artist but ‘Queenish’ has allowed Soulé to solidify her Boss B status.

Swift9, Chuks & Rose9 | ‘Millian’

Some of our favourite Drillers are taking spots in SlimoWeekly with exciting new releases. We first see Av9 members Swift9, Chuks and Rose9 deliver the catchy ‘Millian’. These guys always have an interesting track for us with each artist having a different tone and flow. The dynamics of their voices alone make for a good listen. A couple of weeks ago we saw the Av9 Instagram page post about an upcoming link up with Fumez The Engineer. We anticipated this link up as we have seen the guys go from strength to strength while also watching their production upgrade. We received a video for ‘Millian’ on August 15 with a military type aesthetic symbolising the Drill lifestyle.

Ksav, Dbo, Kebz & Nikz | ‘Swing & Duck’

The next track on our SlimoWeekly playlist brings us to A92, this time with Ksav, Dbo, Kebz and Nikz taking the forefront. The four go back to back on new single ‘Swing & Duck’, showcasing their flows and capabilities without overshadowing anyone. The production on this track is pristine, from the vocal edits to the beat decoration and sound effects. ‘Swing & Duck’ is bound to make your head bop while noticing clever metaphors and nods at previous A92 tracks. This track has also come with it’s own Tik Tok challenge where we see people dress in quite basic or nerdy clothes to then transform into their “street” clothes when Nikz delivers the line “swing and duck”. You can check it here for reference.

Wendy Godfrey | ‘Venus’

To stay within the Drogheda region but this time to explore some AfroSwing, we are going to look at the newest release from Wendy Godfrey, titled ‘Venus’. Having only launched her career a year ago, Wendy Godfrey has had a quick rise within the Irish scene. She has been noted as LMFM’s artist of the month, made it to the Top 10 of the 2nd Annual Snow Globe Awards 2020 and was listed in the HotFor21 by Hot Press Magazine. ‘Venus’ is a fitting song as we come towards the end of summer with an easy flowing instrumental and reminiscing lyrics. Emitting a euphoric sound, ‘Venus’ delivers an AfroSwing sound under Godfrey’s melodic R&B vocals. She has a talent for creating songs that are suitable for many environments and moods. Wendy Godfrey took to the stage at The Sound House’s ‘Sounds of The Summer’ series on Saturday August 21.

Plantain Papi | ‘Take You’

To stick with the genre, we have received a long awaited release from one of our favourite Afrobeat artists, Plantain Papi. ‘Take You’ is the first single off Plantain Papi’s forthcoming project which has been teased for release later this year. He produced this track himself with the presence of a live band including instruments such as saxophone and guitar. The track is clean and provides us with a typical energetic and happy sound we are used to from Plantain Papi. However, this track may not be all it is at face value. When you pay attention to the lyrics you will hear a running theme of escapism in an almost sugarcoated way. We all understand the feeling of wanting to get away, to escape the continuous lockdowns and traumas of the past year and a half. While this may still be physically difficult for most people, ‘Take You’ brings sweet melodies and exotic sounds you can get lost in.

SlimoWeekly is full to the brim with the best of Irish releases, not one track is lacking. Although autumn is looming, we have plenty of things to look forward to over the coming months with the country slowly opening up more each week. Hopefully we will be able to get back to events and see all your lovely faces again.

Until then, stay safe x

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