And next, some Afrobeats courtesy of Daavid…
[Video]
[6.29]
Iain Mew: I have a friend called Lucy, and based on that chorus I give this score on her behalf.
[2]
Will Adams: When he calls her “loose” he means, like, “good at dancing”, right? Right??
[5]
Oliver Maier: Another slice of Afrobeats that makes most US-grown derivations sound like hack jobs. I think the presence of breathing space is the differentiating factor; countermelodies and instrumental flourishes weave in and out without crowding the mix or making the song busier that it needs to be. You are trusted to be a patient listener and rewarded on repeat listens with new details, like circling back to look at the same painting again and again. Eltee and Niniola give exactly as much as they need to and no more.
[8]
Ian Mathers: Especially on headphones, there’s a subtly discombobulating way some of the production elements here warble from channel to channel, quietly but insistently and rapidly. You can maybe hear it best during the instrumental outro. The rest of the song and especially the performances from Skhillz and Niniola are solid, but there’s an addictive quality to that wavering element for me that makes the whole thing a bit more than the sum of its parts.
[7]
Scott Mildenhall: “Lucy” is halfway to something great, but there isn’t quite the thrust to take it there. Eltee Skhillz had more time and space to make his mark on the slower original — which simultaneously suffers for being more light and airy — while the addition of Niniola doesn’t feel especially functional. There’s little connection between the two performers, and that contributes to a sense that — compelling as the atmosphere remains — this is somehow not quite as claustrophobic as it should be.
[7]
Nortey Dowuona: Eltee Skhillz shows he clearly doesn’t have them, buttoning up in thick layers of Auto-Tune and reverb, which slowly stifles his already weak and thin voice. This allows Niniola to simply slip the song under his eyes with her firm, yet also light tone that slowly begins to struggle against the slaloming 40 synths, before the crisp drum programming shocks the song alive. Niniola circles it while awkward horn synth stabs are slammed down, then withdrawn as the pad lifts away, the drums churning until they come to a complete stop.
[8]
Juana Giaimo: The fast beat with the slow keyboards is already a good combination and while Eltee Skhillz’s voice can be quite challenging — too high pitched for my taste — Niniola’s soulful voice tones it down to make a song that can be both danceable and relaxing.
[7]