Demae

Music has always been instinctive for multi-disciplinary artist Demae. Raised in Harlesden, North-West London, Demae would pair her studies with excursions to Rough Trade, curious about their vinyl collection and often pairing her purchases with the latest edition of CRACK magazine. “I used to look at who was the latest top 10 weirdest, eclectic artist coming out.” First introduced to her as a medium through her father, music became a crucial dynamic in their relationship, but also segued into Demae finding her own tastes. “Twice” by Imagine Dragon enamoured her as she watched it play across Grey’s Anatomy. “I went to Rough Trade and found the record randomly, I could finally play it on loop.” Submerged in both her own tastes, and palettes inherited from her father, Demae’s diet of music is informed by a golden age of hip-hop inclusive of the poignance of A Tribe Called Quest alongside the wisdom and balm of a Wu-Tang-Clan.

Studying fashion at university, Demae never planned to formalise music, but would always experiment with it in her own time. “I would come home and sing, not really knowing I could just do it for fun,” she says. But after a friend of hers found her demos, secretly sending them to her friendship group when they were 17, they inadvertently formalised the transition from Demae’s passion, into craft. “I loved fusing different worlds together. Singing a Minnie Ripperton ‘Inside My Love’ over a MNDSGN beat for example,” she says of her recordings at the time. Demae’s music is often as magnatising as it is pacified, Demae allowing herself to illuminate the most introspective thoughts for listeners in real time. Her inaugural project Life Works Out...Usually translated her thoughts as the first years of the pandemic progressed. “Us being on the internet so much made me think about how weird we all are, so I made a song about it,” she notes. “People Are Weird”, the finished product, is almost haunting across its bassline, Demae’s drawled and rich deeper register questioning the philosophies behind our behaviour across social media. ‘Why are we pretending’ she ponders. The wider project leans further into Demae’s mind, marrying together her odes to soul, alternative hip-hop, and ambiance. A “Ford” for example — squarely documenting the confidence that comes with getting a new car — is distorted, whimsical and analog in its finished state, drum thumps wedged between cymbals. Elsewhere, “Use It” sounds DIY with its skittered bassline highlighting Demae’s resourcefulness. “My early projects camefrom not having the resources and improvising, things had to work as smoothly as possible with having less than.”

Recently partnering with FAMM, experimenting further as she did so, Demae released her unofficial Madlib mixtape, Maelib, honing in on her early infatuation with hip-hop, and her longtime love of one its most recognisable faces. “When I joined FAMM, they asked me what I liked musically, I told them about Madlib and had the beatpack in my inbox from his team a week later.” Unifying his collection of vintage, unused sonics, the rapper in Demae enters the fore, largely dominating the 14 minute long loosie. Still, fused to the tender and compelling aspects of Demae’s soulfully charged melodies, Maelib is the perfect encapsulation of the singer's universe, the avant garde aspects of her ear melding themselves to her deep love of the past. The soul, disco, new-age R&B and jazz, all orient the elasticated form of hip-hop that Madlib’s become known for together creating an imaginative universe,with Demae instantly reigning as one of the UK’s most progressive new musicians. Gaining notoriety from peers in the industry, Maelib was acknowledged and celebrated by a cluster of BBC 1Xtra titans including Benji B, (Radio 1) Jamz Supernova (6 Music), and CassKidd (1Xtra), solidifying both her prowess and potential as a recording artist.

More proof of this lingers across her upcoming EP. “I guess love is on the mind with these next batch of songs,” she reveals. Charming and quaint, “Speechless” arrives anointed in jazz, sophisticated and enchanting to listeners. “I’m dreaming about forever with you.” Littered in hyperbole, “Speechless” converts listeners, embodying loves ability to hypnotise. “I wanted to be as imaginative as possible here, to really display how love makes you feel,” Demae says. Still inclusive of her quirks is “Go Ur Own Way” quieter than its predecessor, it allows for Demae’s honeyed yearns to enter, and stay centre-stage. Navigating between head and heart, she tells herself to proceed with forging their own path. It’s a moment of realisation that we’ve all been through, the familiarity echoed across the song's two minute delivery. Squarely adorned in 80s soul is “Bloody Bouquets”. Dreamy and robust in offering, Demae quickly consolidates the number with new-age R&B, her vocals feeling aligned to looser strands of soul and quiet storm. Even more piercing are her analogies here. Between the “battle royale” of her lost intentions, she lays bare her insecurities, laying her intrusive thoughts bare for the world's dissection, brave and enticing manner as she does so. With a formalised Madlib cosign, thousands of monthly listeners already amassed and a sense of musicality and artistry that’s well beyond her years, Demae is not only one of the architects of contemporary progressive British music, but a honest,pellucid storyteller, growing in confidence with each and every release. “I just want to translate my ideas,” she notes. “And explore my love of beat making and sharing my taste and references.”