</3 from Justine EP by Tony Njoku
Announced as Ghostpoet’s tour support from October 16th 2020, totalling 18 dates across the UK, IE and mainland Europe, London-based, producer, singer and avant-pop auteur TONY NJOKU releases his second offering ‘</3’ lifted from upcoming EP ‘JUSTINE’.
This follows the British-Nigerian artist’s late-2019 ‘YOUR PSYCHE’S RAINBOW PANORMA’, which gained the support of Gilles Peterson (and played We Out Here’s first year – 2019), Tom Ravenscroft, Huw Stephens, Jamz Supernova.
Part of the fabric of South London’s exonerated music scene through being a component of the Slow Dance collective (who gave an early platform to bands like Black Midi and Sorry) but first and foremost as a musician himself, Tony has shared stages with Anna Von Hausswolff, Rival Consoles, Goat Girl, Gaika, Jacques, Ider, Kokoko!, PVA and Squid. He’s also been recognised by both Cate Le Bon and Shame, earning a spot on their curated line-up for Sonic City 2019.
Over the last few years, with a catalogue of acclaimed albums published, Tony Njoku has never looked to pigeonhole his sound in any way. This has led him down dark and haunting tunnels of self-discovery, from which he’s emerged with an ableness to articulate quaking spectrums of emotion through songwriting and performance.
On new single ‘</3’, Tony Njoku conversates, questioning self-destructive tendencies after having his trust broken; “why am I always running away from my problems”, and confessing “all I want to do is be in love, held back by the fears of before”, initially over burly Aphex Twin-esque beats, then moving to the climaxing chaos of the breakdown and pinnacle of its message “an immediate breach of the trust that we built”.
“It’s about that heavy heart-breaking feeling of having your trust broken. When someone doesn’t know how to love or be loved they will often sabotage that situation. Despite the sort of uplifting instrumental and melody in the verse the heaviness comes in the breakdown / chorus part. It all goes back to the life script. Why do we make certain decisions that don’t benefit us in life? What stories do we tell ourselves about who we are? How do those stories play out and how aware are we about them?”
‘</3’ will be available on DSPs from May 19th and comes as Tony Njoku’s second single from upcoming EP ‘JUSTINE’, which is due June 19th 2020 via Silent Kid Records.
Tracklist
| 4. | </3 | 2:40 |
Lyrics
You said I don’t know how to be in love
You seemed to have your doubts from the start.
All the traumas hidden underneath the surface,
To unravel we could stretch it out for acres, after acres.
An entire life of being violated.
I guess I don’t know how to be in love.
It’s that feeling that can turn the sun and earth.
Couldn’t even last another revolution.
Why am I always running from my problems.
All I want to do is be in love.
Held back by the fears of before.
And when it hits love it hits with a force.
An immediate breach of the trust that we built.
All my boundaries were crossed and my heart couldn’t stand all the heat.
So weak, so weak.
Credits
Written and recorded by Tony Njoku
License
All rights reserved.Tags
Tony Njoku is a London-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinctive fusion of electronic, ambient, and classical music has positioned him as a bold and innovative voice in contemporary experimental music. His work explores sonic abstraction, raw emotion, and deeply personal storytelling, earning critical acclaim from The Quietus, Dazed, The Guardian, Clash and many more.