Having released ‘Sour’ only a couple months ago, Urkt (consisting of Alfie Tyson-Brown and Harry Urquhart) have returned with their latest single ‘Rich Now’.
Arpeggiated synths and soulful vocals set the brooding tone as lush strings and sparse rhythms cascade into a bass-driven pool of electronic R&B that only intensifies as the song moves forward.
Production wise, there’s a staggering attention to detail – every weave of the sonic landscape catches your attention yet comes back and forth in waves, creating a chance for Urquharts’ effortless vocals to shine with the stand out line “Rich now, rich now”.
The vocals are mixed so delicately that the listener is forced to engage more attentively – you catch such phrases as “no hope” that further invests in the dark, seductive quality that is constant throughout the song. When we are met with a wanting, synth laden break that pushes the listener out of this blanket of mellowness, it rapidly crescendos into layers upon layers of feverish rhythm, atmosphere and harmony.
With their last single being remixed by Exit Lights (James Rushforth of Scalping) and ‘Rich Now’ being reworked here by Fever 103, you can see the experimental affiliation that takes inspiration from the melting pot that is Bristol. However much it perhaps sits on the fringe of mainstream music, at its heart is a powerful and well written song that oozes originality and melancholic warmth.
Words by Kieran Cole Herbert Feature Photo by Rowan Allen
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