PREMIERE: simon a. – Badland [@simonandthem]

Building up to a new EP simon a. drops first release of the year ‘Badland’.

‘Badland’ is the first follow up to simon a.‘s 2020 5 track EP Way To Go which was born out of simon‘s reflective mindset, specifically the headspace brought about by feeling stuck. This time round still in a very reflective space his latest offering was inspired by the weird but sometimes wonderful world of social media. Speaking on the record simon said:

“’‘Badland’ is about how easy it can be to fall into the trappings of online personas, both as a poster and as a consumer. It’s a groovy song told from the perspective of an influencer in three separate stages of their influencer career. Inspired by my consistent failure to separate the fake, ‘best foot forward’ internet life from the real world.”

Sonically the track is a blend of R&B, Funk and the odd element of Electronic. Or if you prefer your references in artists this is a mix of Goldlink, Frank Ocean, Anderon Paak. type production with vocals that are uniquely simon a.’s. It is a soundscape that sets itself apart but one that will keep drawing you back in for more. The song has great replay value and is really a song for pretty much any occasion whether you’re in the car, on a walk (socially distanced obviously) or even just having a chilled one it is the right soundtrack to all of those things and more.

‘Badland’ is ultimately a great teaser of what’s to come from the multi-talented Walthamstow artist’s upcoming EP. Whilst still not a household name yet, simon a. has all the talent needed to be a star and this new EP should be another push in the right direction. Even with the EP looming, personally, I’m looking forward to seeing a longer body of work from him to see what he can really do when he puts his mind to it. He’s already proved himself as an adept writer and as being able to create bodies of work that are cohesive thematically and sonically, the only thing left is to see if he can sustain it over a longer project.