City Slang proudly welcome sir Was to its ever growing family and share his debut single, a Minor Life.
sir Was is the brainchild of Joel Wästberg, a talented musician who grew up in Frillesås in Sweden. The artist has with years collected unique and idiosyncratic influences. Growing up Wästberg started his early career as a jazz saxophonist that led to his studies in Gothenburg and his influential time at the University of Kwasulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. In that time Joel Wästberg started focusing on drums and immersed himself in the joys of pan-African rhythms and sounds. He traveled in Mozambique and Zimbabwe and found inspiration for his music all along the way. The result, is complex styles, uncommon and refreshing music.
a Minor Life is sir Was’ debut and a gentle introduction to his world. The music is colourful with the help of bagpipes and recorder sailing around big synths. Nestled underneath is a swinging live beat so clear and sharp, it could be mistaken for a J Dilla sample.
Demonstrating a seemingly effortless marriage of organic instrumentation, synthetic sounds and head-bobbing beats, he shows himself as a master of balance. Perfectly composed songs merge graceful melody and deep beats with his unique production style. The end result is beautifully emotive, atmospheric tracks eschewing genre classification.
Simply put, whilst some artists strive to push boundaries, sir Was seems blissfully unaware of them in the first place.
You can watch the video for a Minor Life below:
