Introducing… Dewy Sinatra

Here at Bearded we aim to shed light on acts who don't necessarily have giant labels or muscley budgets waving banners behind them. This Introducing series will focus on artists who we think are great, regardless of how much hype surrounds them or where their origin story lays.

Bio
Name: Dewy Sinatra
Location: London, UK
Genre: Electro-hop
Similar Artists: Ghostpoet, James Blake
Contact: Facebook, Twitter
Events: New single 'I Need Love' out now

From beneath a melange of dislocated beats and fractured vocal samples, Dewy Sinatra's grime-tinged rap spiel permeates a post-dubstep mist on recent effort, 'I Need Love'. Sounding like a mutant hybrid of James Blake, Ghostpoet and Labrinth, Sinatra combines ultra-modern elements to create an electronic version of hip-hop that's capable of spearheading a new movement. It's got a true London MC tone – the track is ever-so-slightly gritty – blending amorously with twilight synth pads, hypnotic lead riffs and drums crunchier than chewing gravel; it's a perfect storm. If you rummage around beneath the twisted pylons of broken sound, you'll discover his angst-riddled panic attack with meticulously crafted lines like “My life's on the edge and my mind's out of space,” and “My arms are waiting open for an angel's embrace/ I need a hug/ I need some love.”



Hailing, unmistakably, from the Big Smoke, Sinatra is a producer, rapper and “entrepreneur” with designs on the glittering lights of stardom. He's thinking two steps ahead of the current dross, pushing bone-chillingly fresh sounds into the ether in a bid to rejuvenate London's rapidly stagnating output – there's a lot of great stuff, but so much sounds derivative and/or repetitive. What Sinatra is doing is helming a movement of forward-thinking musicians, who, rather than focusing on the here'n'now, are forcing through with a style that's gorgeously unique.

'I Need Love' is the latest single from upcoming debut LP Emma, apparently an acronym for both 'Every Mistake Makes Autonomy' and 'Everyone Makes Mistakes Andrew'. There's an ambiguity about its true meaning, but there's talk that it's going to be a record both about a girl and about the inner workings of Sinatra's mind. It will come almost three years after his 2011 debut mixtape Hello Hi There, where he sampled things like the musical Wicked and mixed his religious beliefs with hip-hop, nestling in a style some dubbed 'gospel-rap'. Returning after about two years away from the limelight, he's honed his style, and was determined to “create a mood” with his music. The religious references are notably dialled-down almost to zero, and to create his distinctive tone, he opted to record everything new while alone in his bedroom at night, in a method not dissimilar to The xx. Expect the album to drop sometime early 2014.



Dewy Sinatra's comeback repertoire so far includes 'I Need Love' and 'Merlot' (a massive neo-jazz effort with old-school hip-hop streaks, Star Trek nods and soulful keys), but expect his arsenal of music to explode soon. With his new record on the way, there's bound to be more teasers available in the coming months. In the meantime, grab his single and get giddy with anticipation at the prospects of what this guy can do to change LDN's hip-hop offerings.