_{Text: Susanne van Hooft}

Today marks the release of Childe, the debut EP of… yes indeed: Childe. This British singer started making music seriously in his teens and ended up in a grunge band. Although this laid the foundation for his songwriting, Childe was a theatre student at the famous BRIT school. It did provide the necessary inspiration and eventually led to this EP, which has little grunge in it.

What is there? With musical influences from Imogen Heap, Chance The Rapper, Frank Ocean, Bon Iver and Bright Eyes, we expect something different indeed. As Childe himself points out, this music is the result of discovering his own thoughts. A childhood full of trauma has left its mark, also on Childe. Reflecting on loneliness, addiction to destruction and his history of trauma, Childe sings his way through the EP. What kind of music can one expect? Subtle pop, indie mixed with hip-hop influences. The lyrics rather raw, on a bed of sometimes sweet sounding music. Especially the subdued way makes it seem sombre.  Touching is ‘Two Thirds’, where at the end the sirens compete for attention, the loneliness drips off. Together with the recent single ‘Child’, this is the strongest track on the EP. Mumbling electronic beats form a pleasant contrast to Childe’s soft voice. ‘You There’ has a late night soul sound to it. And that suits closing track ‘Blink’ because it makes us almost fall asleep, it is so subdued with a vocal that hardly has any different pitches.

Prolifica Inc/PIAS