Premiere: We Are All “Prey” to the Fury & Fire of One-Man Band Tall Children

Tall Children
Tall Children
Tall Children is firing shots at all of his haters with his latest single “Prey.”
Stream: “Prey” – Tall Children


I‘m not gonna lie: Tall Children’s latest track “Prey” is, well, pretty cliché. In fact, it starts with two. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained / No turning back now, no turning back now,” he sings in the first verse, showing us what is, in my opinion, all of the cards he has in his hand.

There is no mystery to the song, no obfuscated metaphors or lyrical Gordian knots to untangle. ‘Prey,’ if it were to be compared to anything, is much like the cockatoo featured in the music video — friendly, theatrical, and emotionally revealing. But what appears, at first, to be a cute, funky pop-song is lyrically a reflection on past pain and present fury. Cockatoos might be famously affectionate, but they can also be quite destructive — as are the artist’s emotions. “Cause I’m waiting for the day, when you’ve become the prey for all,” he sings, playing the long game, unleashing his anger on his detractors. Behind what he calls “classic hip-hop meeting classic modern acoustic pop,” Tall Children conjures both that sweet feeling of optimism and ferocity of revenge — an ardent combination that one might call a war cry for a better future.

What appears, at first, to be a cute, funky pop-song is lyrically a reflection on past pain and present fury.

“Prey” – Tall Children

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Prey,” Tall Children’s third single thus far. Ever since picking up a guitar at age 5, Ben Hughes has been on a path to stardom. At 13, he was taught personally by guitar legends Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor, honing skills that eventually earned him a spot at the prestigious Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. Ambitious and deft, Hughes played alongside veteran players like Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, Dave McCabe and Zutons, Mel C, Nitin Sawhney, Brent Mason, Albert Lee with Hogan’s Heroes, Gaps, Salford Jets, and Paulo Nutini. After signing a deal with  i-Global Music, Hughes has earned accolades after accoldes: his track “Song for You” was featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday; gained consistent support from BBC radio and LA’s famous radio station Power 102; And recently played with Ceemax at Wigan Stadium.

“‘Prey’ is essentially an underdog story: the idea that you can turn the tough circumstances in your life around, use them as fuel and come out on top,” Tall Children tells Atwood Magazine. “If my first single ‘Song for you’ was an open invitation for pop lovers to notice me, my second single ‘Be With Me’ asked them to jump aboard my train. Now my third single ‘Prey’ continues the story, but takes a rather more acerbic view of all the circumstances & naysayers that have hindered that journey in any way. I like to think it sends a positive message to all those who’ve experienced knock-backs, to give them some strength to battle through.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
No turning back now, no turning back now. 
So I tell myself again. Gotta keep moving, peddling forward.
Make the most of everything. No turning back now, no turning back now.
Write your own ending. 
I’m here once again, left me in the dark.
Blood is in the water, not a single shark.
The tide will change things come and go.
But I just wanna know.

In the chorus I sing “If I was a millionaire would that make your life easy?” This is about those times when the people you want to talk to won’t, because you’re not a “someone”. When the chorus finishes with the line “I’m waiting for the day, when you’ve become the prey for all”, it’s a rallying cry to that personal victory when you stop letting predators take bites out of your self-belief and sense of purpose in doing what you do… the tables can turn and all of a sudden people want to go with you, rather than try to derail you. Sonically ‘Prey’ is a track that steps in a slightly different direction. Having established heavy acoustic guitar playing as the driving force in ‘Be With Me’, ‘Prey’ takes the same acoustic syncopation but accompanied by far more bass-heavy instruments like 808s and Moog synths. The whole sound is a juxtaposition of classic hiphop meeting classic modern acoustic pop.”
“The video came from the fact that I’m known in Parr St Studios in Liverpool affectionately as “the mad cockatoo”. Those parrots will literally jam to anything and you can’t help but feel buzzed-up by just being with them! When making this video everyone thought I was mad, but having seen the results there’s nothing more appropriate for this song than seeing a black, white and signature yellow cockatoo break down its barriers and rock out for death and glory! I hope fans will love it!”
If, I was millionaire, would that make your life easy?
Cause it seems so unfair, the way that you appease me.
One day, I’ll be standing tall looking down, you’re on the floor.
Cause I’m waiting for the day, when you’ve become the prey for all.
Swallow fury nod my head. No turning back now, no turning back now.
A fly caught in a spider’s web. Gotta keep moving, peddling forward. 
A lesson in the journey’s end? No turning back, no turning back now.
Only on yourself you can depend. 
Stream: “Prey” – Tall Children

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“Prey” – Tall Children
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The Arresting Allure of Tall Children’s Sunny “Be with Me”

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