Melding together lilting, harmonious vocals, with gentle, finger-style acoustic guitars, a strong rhythmic bass, and irresistible afro-beat infused drums, Kawala have delighted listeners with their new single “Wash Away the Wild”.
The idiosyncratic two-part harmonies at the heart of Kawala’s sound are smooth as ever, with the voices of Jim Higson (lead vocals) and Dan McCarthy (acoustic guitar, vocals) melting together seamlessly.
An elegant and absorbing track, “Wash Away the Wild” maintains the bright, melodic folk-inspired style that has characterised Kawala’s previous work, but also begins to take a new direction, with a greater variety of sounds floating to the surface alongside the core vocals and acoustic guitar.
Originally a duo, Jim Higson and Dan McCarthy developed a distinctive sound while studying at the Leeds College of Music, before moving back to North London to evolve their sound. They were then signed to Mahogany Records and expanded the band to include Ben Batten (drums), Reeve Coulson (bass), and Dan Lee (electric guitar).
Kawala have enjoyed breaks on platforms such as Mahogany Sessions, and have appeared at festivals such as Live at Leeds and The Great Escape, picking up steam in 2018 especially.
In response to their personalised 2019 Wrapped results by Spotify for Artists, Kawala joked on their Facebook page: “LOOK AT ALL THEM NUMBERS!!!! We’d like to publicly apologise for the 813.3K hours you’ve wasted & will never get back…”
They continued by giving thanks for all the support they had received, before adding cheekily on the end, that a new song was being released the very next day:
“In all honesty, the amount of people telling us we’re their top artist or even their top 5 is completely overwhelming & we’re getting quite choked up about it all. It’s hard to believe that when we set out building Kawala, we’d be anywhere near where we are today. Couldn’t have done it without the support of Spotify & all you beautiful characters. So thank you & Long live the Kawala family ❤
“Now…. Who fancies a new song tomorrow? X”
#Peace.Love.Kawala
