Dense: Breathless

Hip hop artist Antix releases his new single Breathless on 8 Septmebr 2014. This year has seen Antix enter the top 10 of the Music Week Urban Charts with his two previous singles, as well as his inclusion in the MTV Brand New 2014 shortlist.

New release Breathless draws from everything from World Music and Classical instruments to golden-era hip hop acts such as Nas and Wu Tang. The combination of Antix’s unique flow, backing cellos and the dub-step infused beats are simply a step above.

Breathless addresses the inner-workings of all artists and the frequent frustration they can incur in the pursuit of their art; even name-checking such trailblazers as Picasso and Dali in his verses. Shunning the bravado and materialism of his contemporaries, Antix is finally a UK rapper with a real message.

This is what Antix says about Breathless: “With the new single ‘Breathless’ I wanted to smash different worlds of sound together in tight, almost claustrophobic, harmony. There’s a denseness in the production which could easily have gone wrong, but thankfully melted together at just the right points. The female hook seems like it was delivered on one breath, with a nice rich rasp. And the cellos are there to fuel the pathos of the lyrics, which are kind of bordering both on supreme arrogance and total vulnerability. The overall aim was to have the feel of an effortless balance, but angry. And then, lastly, I wanted the references to the great modern artists of the 20th century (Dali, Picasso…) to parallel the obscurity of the whole track.

Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma. My favourite of his recordings. Reminds me of watching it at the opening of the Olympic ceremony when I lived in LA, as a young boy. Breathless for obvious reasons – the scale of the delivery. The huge vocal power needed to perform it. I feel out of breath just listening to it, and remember being totally awestruck that he managed to deliver the crescendos with such grace.

Watch the video here.

Nina Simone – Strange Fruit. You can feel the sadness in her voice. The anguish of every desperate word hanging in that balance between singing and crying. You can see the breathless, hot day that she sings about. You can see that strange fruit in the tree, rocking slowly in the hatred that grew it. Video.

Sixpence none the richer – Kiss me. The song that played throughout the last summer that I ever spent with my mum. Was the theme song of that holiday, and would play on the radio in our convertible that we rented, and drove along the canyon to Zuma beach. I always am transported back to that magical time when I hear it. Always leaves me thinking of her, and always leaves breathlessly nostalgic, and bitterly sad at the thought of never seeing her face again. Watch the video here.