Naarm’s Alex Watts is making vintage R&B cool again, with his latest track about to hit the airwaves, the catchy and warm “SFYL” (Sorry For Your Loss). This is one that will have you heading for the dance floor, and we are stoked to be premiering it ahead of its release on Thursday.
The track features some killer lines, including “You never knew me, so I’m sorry for your loss”, in defiance of a toxic relationship. That’s a worthy and admirable slice of self-respect being served up there. Coupled with an infectious groove, and aided by some stellar Melbourne musicians, including Matthew Hayes (30/70), Hudson Whitlock (Surprise Chef), Jake Amy, Lewis Coleman and Darvid Thor (Karate Boogaloo), “SFYL” is brimming with feel-good soul vibes.
“SFYL” was recorded at Soundpark Studios in Northcote. It will be on Alex’s forthcoming EP, Permission, which will be released on the 19th of June. It promises to be a collection of uncharacteristically personal songs that call to mind ‘70s singer-songwriter and vintage soul sounds, delivered with idiosyncratic flair and self-awareness. The EP was mixed and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Nick Herrera (Hiatus Kaiyote) at The Grove in Melbourne.
About these new recordings, Alex writes: “Permission focuses on permission as consent, permission to feel happiness or as a tool of coercive control, and the many ways that we can give ourselves permission to justify good or bad behaviour.”.
Alex released his debut album, Another Step in the Dark in 2016, and the follow-up, After This I’m Going Normal in 2022. He has toured both nationally and overseas as a solo artist and as part of Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue.
You can give Alex Watts a follow on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Header image credit: Will Hamilton-Coates
