DARKOWA’s richly textured sound traverses the often weird and sometimes wonderful world of love and connection. Drawing from her own experiences DARKOWA explores grief, loss and the difficulty and power of letting go.
Her latest offering, ‘Searching the World‘— released on September 9th — brings us into her enthralling world dramatised by balmy vocals that rise and fall — all that goes up must come down! She describes the single as being “written in a stage of overflowing emotions, inspiration and musical drive”, elaborating that “this track really means the world to me, taking me back to when I lost someone really close but infusing the sadness of the vocals with danceable drum and bass.” The single marks the first part of the Norwegian-Ghanaian artist’s three-track EP, with the remaining songs due for release on 29th October 2022 via Playground Music.
DARKOWA seamlessly merges her childhood influences with sonic sensibilities that reach across geographical lines — from Accra to Oslo. She reflects; “In Oslo, there is a sense of the need to fit in, and that you have to make a certain kind of pop to be successful in music. As the child of Ghanaian parents in Norway, I’ve always been a little different, a misfit – albeit with friends!” In ‘Searching the World’, pop enmeshes with West African highlife, creating a uniquely experimental and resonant sound.
As a producer, DJ and vocalist, DARKOWA’s practice is multi-layered with early 2000s R&B sensibilities, goth aesthetics, ambient neo soul and experimental electronic sounds — a symbiotic symphony of melody and rhythmic energy. Her music is one of the tensions, where pain and joy coexist. Danceable. Broody. Equally suited for the club, the gym or the bedroom, it sends you into a deep contemplative mode before it picks you right up and revitalises you — teleportation of body, mind and soul to parts unknown.
Listen to ‘Searching the World’ here.
