Inspired by Paul Lester’s weekly column in The Guardian, this is hopefully the first of a series of ramblings on exciting music. Essentially, these are new sounds that have struck a chord with me over the previous months.
1. Gallant, US.
I saw this 20-something on the Boombox stage at Dour in July and, honestly, he should have been playing a bigger setting. A music graduate from the prestigious NYU, Christopher Gallant has definitely got that well-crafted and polished feel down to a T. It’s R&B done well: smooth, sensual, effortless. And then there’s that intriguing charisma that he has onstage too: he shows an energy, with sudden bursts of movements and gestures, that’s often combined with a more languid mood. Gallant definitely has a confidence in his own ability, rightly so, as he frequently toys with the higher ranges of his voice. Yes, there are some falsettos and, by god, are they glorious. Exhibited across his latest release Ology, they place him in a completely different category to your standard crooner. A good example of these notes feature on his most popular track, ‘Weight in Gold’. It has the obvious making of a hit and got him a standing ovation on late night chat show Jimmy Fallon. Produced by STiNt, who has collaborated with the likes of Santigold and NAO, you could say it’s Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinkin Bout You’ with a higher pitch and more of an electronic undercurrent. Other great work on the album includes the low-key ‘Talking to Myself’ and the spine-tingling ‘Skipping Stones’, featuring R&B vocalist Jhené Aiko. In fact, the latter is one of a couple of collaborations for the artist, including beautiful work done with Sufjan Stevens on a cover of his song ‘Blue Bucket of Gold’. Gallant is a tremendous talent, so expect mainstream success soon.
In the meantime, check out his latest album Ology now.
Cultural ponderings 