astronomyy

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Hometown: Worcestershire
Lineup: astronomyy
For fans of: James Blake, The Weeknd, The xx
Key tracks: ‘Don’t Need U’
See him live: Ringmaster Festival, Worcestershire, 28 September
Connect: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter | YouTube

Oh Worcestershire, first you grace us with your cheese on toast-topping nectar, now a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist genuinely worthy of the accolades showered on the likes of Ben Howard and Dan Smith. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to astronomyy.

The mysterious producer’s debut drop, ‘Don’t Need U’, arrived this week and was quickly endorsed by Catford vocalistand sometime Rudimental affiliate, MNEK, as well as a slew of fingers-on-the-pulse bloggers from the UK, US and Oz. In short astronomyy’s prospects are looking pretty darn bright already; especially for a guy who inexplicably chooses to describe his sound ‘Urban Surf’.

To his credit, the young knob-twiddler actually turned out a rather lush re-imagining of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe’ a little while back. Although we’re not convinced the mean streets of Hereford and Kidderminster present the same sort of troubles and strife as the m.A.A.d city, you could lose yourself for days in those pillowy soft vocals, spun over distantly shuffling hi-hats and muted guitar notes.

Original effort ‘Don’t Need U’ follows in a similar vein. Spine-tingling beats entwine with nocturnal slide-guitars and nullifying percussion, leaving an end product recalling our thrilling first glimpse ofThe xx’s sparsely woven, clandestine pop. We aren’t big gamblers but we’d hazard a guess that Trilogy played its part here too, or at least that’s what the amniotic synth swells and caramelized murmurs of “I’m gonna leave you” suggest.

What’s next for our mercurially talented interplanetary aficionado? Only he knows. Keep your eyes on the skies as†ronomers.