abrahamblue exposes his eclectic background on "Can’t Keep Up"

The DIY approach is something that has been at the core of abrahamblue’s music from the start and his new single, "Can’t Keep Up", is no different. Beginning on a cheeky but rough hewn guitar riff that borders on the earworm, the track’s quirky optimism soon gives way to the delicacy of Blue's introspective vocals.

Born to Syrian-Palastinian parents, his family settled in Antwerp at the age of five. Growing up in a small apartment without TV, Blue's only cultural reference points were classical Arabic singers, meaning that his time in Belgium was a period of conflict. Embracing a wide cultural outlook independent of the influences of those around him, Blue used that feeling of dislocation to open himself up to a broad spectrum of genres, forging himself a complex and diverse identity from styles as varied as jazz and Brazillian Bossa Nova.

Taken from his forthcoming debut EP, Tracks I Wrote Last Summer will be the culmination of all of Blue's artistic inspiration to date, but it merely the starting point on what is set to be an exciting path in music for this unique young songwriter. While carrying all the hallmarks of a bedroom pop classic, “Can’t Keep Up" also plays host to all of the same subtle nuances present in the forward thinking expressions of artists like Oscar Jerome and Jordan Rakei.

“Sometimes in life we just wish we could press pause,” shares Blue of his new single. "Life just felt like a race, city life was overwhelming and people around me were getting away with everything; while I just felt I was treading water.

"It reminded me how I felt when I quit school at 17 to chase my dreams,” he continues. “With nobody to show me the way so I had to learn to play all the instruments myself.”