'Jesse C'mon' the new single from Kawala

KAWALA are back and starting out 2022 with their exuberant new single ‘Jesse C’mon’, out now on EMI records.

A slice of vibrant, danceable pop, ‘Jesse C’mon’ sees the band layering their trademark harmonies and chiming guitars to create a sophisticated, yet instantly accessible song dealing with those people in the world who have a little issue with the truth.

“Jesse is a character we made up who represents and embodies all the people in the world who intentionally lie all the time” the band explains. “Everybody knows a Jesse.”

The surreal and vibrant video for ‘Jesse C’mon’ was created by Spanish video director NYSU (Bastille, New Order) alongside the band and takes the idea of a catchy tune to some strange places.

“When we first wrote the song, the thing that stood out about it was how it instinctively made you start bopping your head. And as we listened back to what we’d made, one of us would start bopping his head, and suddenly we were all doing it” the band explain. “We wanted to showcase how infectious this was through the main characters’ consistent head motion throughout the video. Through the ingenious vision of NYSU, we were able to balance this with the constantly evolving chaos all around him. we wanted to make it hard to keep your eyes off it!”

Containing a spectrum of thoughts, feelings and observations, the band’s debut album, ‘Better With You’, is driven by golden melodies, danceable afrobeat-inspired rhythms and immediate harmonies that create a truly encompassing atmosphere across its ten songs. The album follows a series of acclaimed EPs and live shows from the North London band over the last two years which has seen them establish a community focused fanbase across the country.

Fittingly, their debut album is a celebration of this communality, with a lyrical thread running through its songs charting the band’s growth as people and as artists. The record’s artwork helps reflect this, with the band having chosen to ask a number of individuals who have helped them along the way to paint or draw different panels that eventually formed the overall mosaic of the cover.

On the album itself tracks like previous single ‘Searching’ and the (cheekily named, non-cover) ‘Ticket To Ride’, along with new tracks ‘Marathon’ and ‘Echoes’ are filled with an intoxicating hopefulness that unfurls into bright, pop moments, sure to stir minds and bodies. While On the flip side of the coin, songs like ‘Hypnotized’, ‘Jesse C’Mon’ and ‘Good Like This’ provide a more immersive musical landscape that offers a contemplative, personal vibe.

Recorded over the last 12 months as restrictions tightened and eased, KAWALA – completed by guitarist Dan Lee, bass player Reeve Coulson and drummer Ben Batten – found themselves collaborating with an array of leading production talent on their new record after their initial plan of retreating to a residential studio was scuppered by the pandemic.

LISTEN/WATCH ‘JESSE C’MON’ HERE