Tuesday 7 June 2016

Honne


HONNE

The other day I was listening to Radio One and this gorgeous, summery, blissful number came on. All throughout the song I was intent on finding out who the creators were of this almost euphoric music that was swirling through my ears, right through to the depths of my soul. When the song ended, I found out that what I'd heard was Someone That Loves You by Izzy Bizu and Honne. As you can probably guess, it went straight in my Spotify favourites, and from there on I began a spontaneous voyage of discovery, if you will, of Honne. And it all cascaded from there really.

Honne, meaning true feelings in Japanese, is a British band, originating from London and comprising of members James and Andy, who started the band after they met at university back in 2014. They collaborate together to create a distinct musical sound that is unapologetically soulful, futuristic, rich, lush, seductive and wholly unique. There's a serene electro synth element that is interwoven with Andy's delightfully idle, effortlessly crooning voice, and an array of perfectly timed backing vocals and expertly arranged instrumentals. It's a sound that doesn't seem to try too hard. All the individual components that characterise Honne's sound seem to harmoniously blend into one another with such ease and confidence, and as a listener it's so striking and addictive to listen to.

The typically leisurely tempo allows time for the orchestra of sound to caress and collide with one another, producing a well-measured, emotive, naturalistic symphony which is then expertly fine-tuned for maximum impact. With the whole electro scene still having its moment, many artists, although supremely talented and impressively skilled, unintentionally fall victim to sounding similar to one another. It makes you wonder how far the electro-based sound can be taken, manipulated, pushed. Is there a limit to how far it will go, before the distinction becomes muted? However for me personally, Honne are a band that overcome this limitation. Their style is surprising, fresh, and masterful, and I love how they've chosen to push the electro genre into the magnificent fountain of soul music, and form a constellation between the two.

In many ways, it shouldn't work, because soul and electro are two genres that you wouldn't necessarily think to put together. Soul is so organic, natural. Electro is so artificial, synthetic. They lie at to completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Yet somehow, they've managed to extract the best from each genre and artfully weave them together, so that neither is lost to the other and the power of each genre actually compliments one another perfectly. It's just brilliant, which is why I subsequently added most of their back catalogue on to my Spotify favourites and bought a ticket to their upcoming Autumn tour. The love is so real guys. So if the curiosity bug has bitten, and you want to experience this cinematic sound for yourself, just listen to some of my favourite Honne songs below. Honne-stly, they really are that good (sorry, I just love a good pun). And if like me you find yourself on a mad one, wanting to rave to everyone and everything about just how good their sound is, just click the links below to find out more information.

You can find out more about Honne here, and get tickets for their Autumn 2016 tour here.

*THE DÉBUT ALBUM 'WARM ON A COLD NIGHT'  IS OUT 22ND OF JULY*

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L.I.S.T.E.N

Woman

Coastal Love

Gone Are The Days

All In The Value

The Night

I Can Give You Heaven

Warm On A Cold Night

2 comments:

  1. I haven't heard of them before but after listening to their songs I can say it's utterly true they convey a 'true feeling'. I love that kind of music, they are so creative and their vocals are exquisite! Thank you for sharing <3

    Kinga | Miss Glamorous Sweatpants

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw I'm so glad you like their music too, & it's always so lovely sharing great music with other people! Thank you so much for reading my dear :)

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