Artist to Watch: The Intoxicating Allure of East London's Chinwe

East London’s Chinwe dwells in a moment of hot n’ heavy reckoning in her irresistible new single “Down,” an intoxicating club-ready reverie ready to move our bodies and sway our souls.

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Stream: “Down” – Chinwe

Will you be around… when I come down…

Seldom has a song felt so light, and yet so heavy at the same time.

Her song may be named “Down,” but Chinwe is soaring above us, way, way up in the clouds. She’s floating in a feeling; lost in a groove, all-consumed by a soul-stirring sound. She’s riding a wave that so many of us have ridden before; call it intoxication, call it infatuation – it goes by many names, and it’s a high unlike any other. The only question is, can it last forever?

Sometimes we just have to give ourselves to the present, and hope for the best. With powerful, pulsing beats and atmospheric synths at her side, Chinwe sets a seductive scene of intimate connection and emotional surrender. The East London artist dwells in a moment of hot n’ heavy reckoning in “Down,” an irresistible, club-ready reverie ready to move our bodies and sway our souls.

You’re like a drug to me
I see you everywhere I go
It takes over me
this sensation fills my soul
I feel the ground move beneath me
I lose all feeling on the dance floor
Yeah you can
Come closer but don’t hold me
I just wanna know

Will you be around
When I come down?
Will you be around
When I come down?

Independently released March 6, “Down” is Chinwe’s first song of the year, following the release of her sophomore EP Fall last Autumn. Long a presence in Atwood Magazine‘s pages, the British singer/songwriter and producer has been taking our collective breath away now for five dazzling years; we’ve had the privilege of premiering two of her songs, including 2020’s dreamy indulgence “Intoxicated” and 2022’s “Something Beautiful,” which we described as a soulful and summery downtempo seduction that lives up to its name: “Her captivating voice can carry a song all on its own, yet Chinwe has added a world of texture, color, and flavor to every release that elevates her vision and accentuates her craft.” The jazz-soaked song “Come We Fly,” released last Spring as a part of the Fall EP, stands out as one of Chinwe’s finest moments thanks to its sheer weight and sonic warmth.

Its gauzy grooves are ready-made to envelop the ears; paired with Chinwe’s vocal performance, that backdrop becomes the kind of beacon a weary listener can turn to for renewal and rejuvenation; to lose themselves, if only for a little while.

THE RELAXED INTENSITY OF CHINWE’S SOUL-STIRRING “COME WE FLY”

:: TODAY’S SONG ::

Chinwe’s latest release feels tailor-made to Shoreditch nightclubs and their sense of collective connection and escape.

“Down” takes to the skies on cloud nine, even as its narrator ponders what the future has in store for her. “You’re like a drug to me; I see you everywhere I go,” Chinwe asserts in the verse, her sultry voice a beacon of sweltering emotion. She sings up-close and personal, hot on the mic so as to capture and evoke the heat she feels within. “It takes over me, this sensation fills my soul.”

But there’s always a darkness at the edge of town, isn’t there? She can’t just linger on her mountaintop; few of us can. “Come closer, but don’t hold me,” she impresses on her subject, the pulse growing ever-more intense behind her smoldering voice. “I just wanna know, will you be around when I come down?“

How long can our high last? Will it be forever?

Does it ever?

You’re like a drug to me I see you everywhere I go
It takes over me this sensation fills my soul
I feel the ground move beneath me
I lose all feeling on the dance floor
Yeah you can
Come closer but don’t hold me
I just wanna know

Will you be around
When I come down
Will you be around
When I come down

“I wrote ‘Down’ about being in a new relationship and those initial feelings of infatuation,” Chinwe tells Atwood Magazine. “Even when you’re in that phase, sometimes at the back of your mind you wonder if that person will still be around when things aren’t perfect and you’re no longer riding that high.”

“A part of you knows that you’re seeing them through rose tinted glasses, but what happens when they fade away over time? That’s the question ‘Down’ is really asking.”

When I come down
Will you be around?
When I come down…

“Down” is a song for those who dwell.

It’s an intense moment of surrender captured on record. Chinwe expresses her own intoxication and infatuation through her lyrics, her vocal performance, and her deeply emotive instrumental work, and yet at the same time she conveys a sense of temporality to it all – recognizing that ecstasy and euphoria are fleeting feelings, no matter how good they feel in the moment.

Nevertheless, “Down” is the high we’ve been waiting for. Strap in for a banger and ride this high for as long as you need, courtesy of East London artist-to-watch, Chinwe.

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