We Speak Music

DILAN SKIES’ New Single ‘Leave It All Behind’ – A Nostalgic Yet Fresh Blend of Pop and R&B

Published

2 years ago

August 30, 2024

DILAN SKIES’ latest single, ‘Leave It All Behind,’ is a captivating blend of Pop and R&B, steeped in a warm sense of nostalgia. This track, a prelude to his anticipated debut album, firmly positions Skies as an emerging talent in the music scene, with a unique ability to merge the old with the new, crafting a sound that is both innovative and comfortingly familiar.

The track opens with a pulsating bassline that immediately sets a reflective and introspective tone. The warm, low frequencies create a sense of intimacy, drawing the listener into the world Skies is creating. As the song progresses, subtle layers of atmospheric synths are introduced, adding a lush, almost ethereal quality to the production. These elements work together to create a backdrop that is both rich and inviting, perfectly complementing the themes of the song.

One of the standout features of ‘Leave It All Behind’ is Skies’ vocal performance. His delivery is smooth and intimate, with a sincerity that makes each lyric feel personal and relatable. Skies’ voice effortlessly glides over the melody, showcasing his impressive range and control. His use of rhythmic phrasing, coupled with nuanced falsettos, adds a contemporary edge to the track. This is particularly noteworthy as it nods to the early 2000s influences that clearly shaped Skies’ musical identity, yet it never feels derivative.

The production of ‘Leave It All Behind’ is meticulously crafted, striking a delicate balance between modernity and familiarity. The percussion is crisp yet understated, providing a steady foundation without overpowering the more melodic elements of the track. This allows the soulful guitar riffs to shine, adding depth and warmth to the arrangement. The harmonies are equally well-executed, weaving together to create a delicate sonic tapestry that enhances the emotional weight of the lyrics.

What sets this track apart is the dynamic interplay between its minimalistic verses and the more expansive chorus. The verses are restrained, allowing Skies’ vocals and the underlying instrumentation to breathe, creating a sense of tension. This tension is released in the chorus, which swells with emotion, evoking a sense of longing and catharsis that is both powerful and moving.

‘Leave It All Behind’ is a testament to DILAN SKIES’ talent and potential. It’s a track that feels simultaneously fresh and nostalgic, a rare and difficult balance to strike. As he gears up for his debut album, this single serves as a strong indicator of the artistry and skill that will undoubtedly propel him to greater heights. With this release, DILAN SKIES establishes himself as a rising star in the music world, one whose journey will be well worth following.

We Speak Music

Michele Ducci teases new album with uplifting indie single ‘Woman Like You’

Published

23 hours ago

April 17, 2026

Don Reed

Michele Ducci has unveiled the second single, ‘Woman Like You’, from his forthcoming album and animated film ‘Snail in the Clouds’.

‘Woman Like You’ pairs bright distorted electric guitar with an electronic drumbeat, adding in Ducci’s soulful vocals and a catchy uplifting chorus with Letizia Mandoleisi’s sweet vocal harmonies. A vintage organ pedalboard operated by Ducci simultaneously generates chords, bass and rhythm, like a one-man band. Shane Kennedy (Girl in the Year Above) joins in on guitar. Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing) recorded and produced the track at his 4am Studios in London.

The album and film tell the story of a planet called ‘Snail’, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.

The video for the single, created and animated by Ducci and Mandoleisi, delves further into the realm of planet ‘Snail’:

Says Ducci, “The ark of melodies, after various attempts, finally starts to work and fly in the planet Snail, while the shady Doc. Sub. and Agostos, with their platoon of soldiers made of foggy smoke, spy the miracle, planning to steal the ark for their evil and tyrannical purposes.”

About the track, Michele says, “I wrote this song for my love Letizia. Love seen from the mind is the sound we make. Sound is the love of matter.

We used a Technics synthesizer organ from a flea market. I tried to find a mood that was right for the song and I started using the bass of the pedal board together with the synth and the drums, and it was magical to hear the song reveal itself all coming from a single instrument. Leti was singing with me and we recorded everything live in one shot. Then we made Shane do the guitar flight, as if he came out of the window. The idea was to maintain disproportions, guitar thrust and synth drum thinness a la Haroumi Hosono, so as to create an estrangement, but naturally: it’s about how I listen, with close up something that captures me in its nuance as element of a larger orchestra somewhere. I’m glad we decided in the studio with Simon to use the layers of arrangement as the close-ups in the cinema; they look like strange enlargements that perch on parts of a mutated orchestra. I’m happy to come back with this love song at a time when everything seems to opt, even my labor in managing the flows of selfishness that have poured out on me while doing this album, for the sound of war. I’m here happy to be able to say that the sound of love always wins as did for me. Snail in the clouds is one of the most important works in my life and I am glad to start from pure love for this album that is my son.”

The album and full-length film will be released on the 5^th of June on Monotreme Records.

Michele and Letizia’s previous musical short film, ‘The Great Book of Nature’, is an official selection for the 2026 Venice Shorts Film Festival.