Ramzi - Way Out

Buy Way Out here (iTunes UK)
Pre-order Ramzi's album "Artist" here (iTunes UK)

I love a music recommendation, I do - and this comes from one of England's finest dressed, most harmonious chappy himself. Yup, Darren (1/5th of The Overtones) has steered me towards soulful new pop artist, Ramzi and it is a recommendation that has me getting down with my bad self to his seductive grooves. The talented singer songwriter is previewing his upcoming album, Artist, with a new single titled Way Out. Before I get to how fine the single is, can we just take a moment to appreciate the title of the album? Clearly, Ramzi is a performer who believes that songs are more than just words set to music. They are creative expressions of experiences both lived and longed for, living, breathing moments of the shape of our lives. Way Out is an excellent example of how he pours his heart and soul into delivering the most nuanced, expressive performance possible. It is not your straight forward love song - in fact, it focuses on the darker side of attraction by giving a narrative that details feeling trapped within a relationship. Set to a propulsive percussive groove and intoxicating house piano chords, Ramzi guides the melody forward with ease and makes the weary resignation of the verses almost tangible. That is not to say it is gloomy to listen to - you definitely get the sense of freedom as the music drives you into the chorus, where - through a textured explosion of deep bass rhythms - Ramzi gets a cathartic refrain that is a tribal release of all the frustrations he has kept bottled up. What is great about the songwriting is that you can surrender to the music and shimmy along to the beat; yet you can also imagine that this would hold up equally as well as an Adele style ballad, full of pathos and yearning. It his flirtation with current trends that makes it feel contemporary, yet is built around music songwriting concepts that will ensure it lasts through the ages. Beautifully done - do make sure you pre-order his album and enjoy the buttery sounds of Ramzi. You'll no doubt be hearing much more from his this year.