Midnight

We say

With soul and funk influences from the 70's and 80's prevalent throughout, this addictive first single from the debut album by Royce Wood Junior may have retro leanings but is thrillingly current. Key names at Radio 1 like Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens and Mistajam all played the song, then added the track to their individual Playlister sections on the station’s website. The superb album The Ashen Tang shows a dizzying array of styles and we’re particularly fond of the tracks Bees, Clanky Love and Stand, all of which we reckon could be great potential follow-ups to this single, by the way. Think of a left-of-centre Stevie Wonder during his peak Innervisions period and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Having previously worked with Jamie Woon and Ninja Tune act Jono McCleery, he’s just co-written the current single Perfect Ruin for Kwabs and contributed to several tracks on his forthcoming album too. He’s a genuinely exciting young British talent with enough cool and diverse songs to take on the world, making him a red hot 2015 Mercury Prize contender, we suspect. Yep, it's that good.

Contact

Label Contact: Alex Bean, 37 Adventures
Publishing Contact: Sam Winwood, Kobalt, +44 (0)20 7401 5500
National Radio: Leo Greenslade, Greenslade, +44 (0)20 8960 2516
Online & Press: Naomi Williams, Totem
Management: Daniel Bearman, Holy Toto