Grammy nominated British singer, songwriter and producer MNEK returns with a powerful and emotive new track ‘Paradise’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg3g6nNFZXM
The song, which features the iconic guitar riff from Ultra Nate’s iconic 1997 dance smash ‘Free’, sees MNEK venture into new territory both as a songwriter and as a vocalist. An evocative, vital and lyrically thought-provoking R&B song comprised of ominous throbbing bassline and skittish beats, ‘Paradise’ allows the singer to exhibit his distinct and majestic vocals, as he explores a newfound fragility with his falsetto on the song’s dark and emotionally stirring chorus.
The 22-year-old explains, the track is about how — with all that’s going on in society today — sometimes escaping the harsh realities of the world can be a freeing and cathartic experience, with the use of the sample coming about in response to the current trend in commercial dance music.
“Around the time I wrote ‘Paradise’, so much dance music was coming out and doing well with literally any 90s R&B song as the main topline, of the whole song. It really bothered me!” he explains. “So, I decided to sample a dance song for an R&B track. I’ve always loved ‘Free’ by Ultra Nate, so it was such an honour to have the blessing of the writers of the song to sample it for ‘Paradise’.”
‘Paradise’ follows 2016’s infectious single ‘At Night (I Think About You’), which has racked up over 12 million streams on Spotify and nearly 2 million views on YouTube, as well as global smash hit and multi-million selling single ‘Never Forget You’, featuring Zara Larsson.
A keen collaborator, MNEK has also been involved with 11 UK Top 20 singles, and also worked on tracks with global and breakout stars such as Beyoncé, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Clean Bandit, Stormzy, Dua Lipa, MØ and Little Mix.
Check out the MNEK Collection, on Spotify which is created by the man himself and includes all of these brilliant tracks – listen here
Taken from his upcoming album due next year, ‘Paradise’ is a perfect example of an uncompromising artist who has cemented his position as one of the most innovative, respected and unique talents in British music today.
Photo credit: Dexter Lander
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