James Deacon has had a remarkable few years. The young star has effortlessly blended his love for rock and roll and rap and has created a sound which has been so unique – and Mzansi is sitting up and listening. Now, the SAMA-nominated star has dropped a brand-new single titled ‘Take Control’ – a positive and upbeat expression of the appreciation of chance encounters, and shows off the singer’s trademark sound as he continues to blaze an exhilarating career path.
‘Take Control’ serves as the next single off the young rocker’s upcoming debut studio album ‘Session One’ which drops on 20 November.
Co-written with Paul Gala, ‘Take Control’ is a bluesy, blustery jam. Deacon’s signature genre-busting style shines with haughty, enigmatic rap verses that contrast his soulful vocals, groovy guitar riffs and bold, heart tickling bass lines. This clap commanding anthem is an instant modern day classic, featuring 60’s style blues guitar driven lines layered effortlessly over slickly produced hard hitting hip-hop beats, vintage breaks and 808s. The middle 8 section makes use of psychedelic country soundscapes created with Deacon’s voice and some production genius on behalf of the ever present Paul Gala.
“‘Take Control’ is a fun track all about meeting a girl at a house party and the song is basically just me hitting on her for 3 minutes. I started off only singing in the verses, but after listening to the track a lot I decided I wanted to try and rap over the verse and it flowed really nicely. The main guitar line that features throughout the track was written years ago but never used until one day in the studio when I heard Paul’s beat which seemed to fit with it perfectly and ‘Take Control’ was born”, James explains.
James celebrates the release of the track by premiering the track’s official music video alongside the release – and it’s the ultimate house party.
“‘Take Control’ is essentially a homage towards every house party I’ve ever thrown. Taking place within a broader framework (yet to be revealed), ‘Take Control’ makes an early reveal as the culmination and celebration of a few different projects,” director Eric T Graham tells us. “As with most of the projects I’ve tackled alongside James, we started off with a vague idea of what we wanted to accomplish and figured the rest out on the fly. I’m all about nudges, easter-eggs, references and pouring elements of the artist’s life (as well as my own) into a project, without feeling the need to ever discuss the underlying meanings. Is it poetry? Is it art? It’s just a house party.”
Watch ‘Take Control’ here:
