Premiere: Akurei proves minimalism works on new single, In Other Words

If you're yet to be acquainted, Akurei is the passion project of Brisbane rising name Connor Grant, someone you may be familiar with through his collaborations alongside Golden Vessel - who he joins on stage as a part of the Brisbane favourite's live show - and Nico Ghost, who graced Akurei's 2017 single Floating. It was a tender, four-track display on the harrowing, emotive electronica that Akurei has become a front-runner in over the years, matching subtle melodies with his graceful vocal presence which at times, really haunts you with its James Blake-comparable swoon. His music is often stripped-back yet infectious, drawing power from the more low-key moments of his indie-meets-R&B-meets-electronic sound, showcasing that even in more minimalistic songwriting, it's still possible to create heart-string-pulling music that really makes you *feel* things beyond your typical song.

His latest, premiering today and kicking off his 2019, continues this with full effect. In Other Words is a rework-of-kinds of Bart Howard's song of the same name, made famous by Frank Sinatra's Fly Me To The Moon. It's, in true Akurei fashion, stripped-back to its bare minimum, bringing together his vocal and a mellow guitar line that faintly strums underneath, matching each lyric with a matching, fragile melody. "I originally recorded the first two verses that interpolate the original song for my dad, as he introduced me to it, as well as a lot of other music from that era," Akurei says on the original. "From there I found myself writing my own chords and lyrics from the chorus onwards as I only planned on sharing the song with family and friends, that was about a year ago. I came around to the idea of releasing it properly and planned on doing so with my EP August but felt it was a song that stood best apart from those other songs, on its own.

"I wanted this song to be as simple as its message, of love for another," he continues. "I recorded it at a time when I fell back in love with playing guitar, so that’s a huge part of the track. Everything thing else fell around that." It's an incredible look into an artist that will undoubtedly strive in 2019, so check out the single below and get around Akurei before he continues to grow over the next twelve months.

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