Having soundtracked coming to terms with the end of a relationship with his recent single ‘Considering Both Sides’, 22-year-old producer, singer, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Oli Hannaford returns with ‘Clarity’, the second single to be taken from his upcoming EP for Parisian label Splinter. Having quickly established himself as an exciting new figure within the UK’s burgeoning Electro-Soul scene, ‘Clarity’ looks set to further cement Oli’s reputation as a both a singer and songwriter to watch out for.
“For me ‘Clarity’ is an essential part of the story I wanted to tell with this EP,“explains Oli. “It’s the moment where you both know that something’s gone wrong but at the same time you’re unsure how bad the situation actually is. You go with it, but at the same time you’re searching for clarity.”
“That sense of things not being quite what they seem is something I wanted to recreate musically too, so ‘Clarity’ draws on the positives and the faux-bliss of that period. As, for all its many faults and placebo or not, pseudo-happiness is still a sort of happiness. So I’ve tried to reflect that juxtaposition with the production and create a musically pleasant setting for what are actually relatively troubled lyrics.”
It’s a contrast that works well, the gentle piano that unfolds over smooth synth pads lures you in, whilst the slight crack in Oli’s vocals betrays the song’s real essence as he repeatedly asks his partner for ‘Clarity’. The result is a song that is both emotionally complex and full of nuance and further develops the narrative behind his upcoming EP.
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