Alté Rising Star AYLØ Unveils New Single 'PARIS'
Introducing exciting genre fluid artist and producer AYLØ. The fast-rising rapper, singer, songwriter and beatsmith is one of the seminal Nigerian creatives, alongside the likes of Odunsi The Engine and Santi, who are pioneering the seminal and innovative fusion sound coming out of Africa, popularly known as alté, which is currently making waves, disrupting the sound and culture on the continent, and quickly gaining traction and attention internationally.
Firmly steeped in alternative R&B, neo soul, hip hop and afropop music sensibilities, while drawing inspiration from a widely varied pool including Fela Kuti, DMX, Whitney Houston, Sade, Herbie Hancock, Soulection, J. Cole, and Andre 3000, AYLØ's soulful, warm and hazy sounds, as highlighted on his fan-favourite cult classics like ‘Island Girl’, ‘Gardens’ and ‘LITT’, have amassed over a million streams on Soundcloud and Spotify, alone.
His brand new single 'PARIS' is co-produced with fellow alté frontrunners Le Mav and Odunsi The Engine, and is the first offering from his forthcoming mixtape DNT DLT, which is due for release on July 30, with distribution from Apple’s Platoon. DNT DLT is the long awaited follow up to his critically acclaimed 2017 album Insert Project Name and his 2016 Honest Conversations EP before that.
Speaking about the inspiration behind the single, AYLØ says, “Paris is about finding beauty in everything. Beauty is in our damage and in our stories. Paradise is what you make it. ‘Paris’ is the subject’s favourite city, so hence the concept of. Beauty, if in, is out, and as above, so below. Me never having being to Paris, it wouldn't matter because I’ve found paradise in Lagos… Right now, in this (that) moment”.
With his upcoming DNT DLT project, AYLØ aims to by-pass the prescriptive alté label and plug into something more attuned to the earthy, organic leanings of his production. He is therefore alte to the Alté; he sees and recognizes the importance of being part of a community, but aware too of how scene association can be damaging when an artist chooses to engage their other faculties.