We Speak R&B
Notorious B.I.G. producer and co-writer’s new project Short Wave Craft drop modern trip-hop anthem!

Short Wave Craft is a joint collaboration between legendary producer Dominic Owen (Biggie Smalls, Rakim, Seal, Anthony Hamilton, Lil Kim) and underground musician, Tom Carr.
The duo offers clear undertones of soulful R’n’B and Dream pop in their work and after a successful previous single and debut EP are ready to drop ‘I Need You Tonight’ a modern trip hop anthem to strengthen the resolve of mankind after the recent battering of the last few millennia. The duo explains, “It began at the height of lockdown. The song itself and its overriding melodies, are an anthemic cry out for human connection, in times of separation. We were inspired by the idea of infusing traditional trip-hop elements with sprinkles of soul, gospel, and blues.”
Despite the initial inspiration for the track, it has an absolutely positive direction, and the duo go on to explain, “We purposely developed it around continuous movements towards crescendos throughout the music. We wanted it to sound iconic and expansive. There are electronic components, though as always with Short Wave Craft all the main instruments are played live by real musicians. We worked remotely between London and Bristol, sending parts back and forth until the musical narrative was established. After digging up on old blues sample where the man in question calls out ‘I Need You Tonight’ it became immediately clear that this was the marching call that the music needed. We then brought onboard a selection of female vocalists and gospel singers to create a ‘call and response’ platform, complementing his melody line. The fusion of ‘I Need You Tonight’ was complete.”
Short Wave Craft previously got their last single and debut EP ‘Panties & Pickles’ onto some niche YouTube channels that have close to a million subscribers between them and after seeing all the amazing comments in the chat board threads knew they were onto something, and felt inspired to take things to another level in 2023 as they build upon the initial success and reach an even wider audience.
They believe their sound will certainly please fans of artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky, DJ Shadow, Air, St. Germain and the likes of Moby, Groove Armada and Morcheeba.
Their overall sound is unique to them however and is the evolution of the pair’s split time between Bristol & London, where they’re deeply plugged into the independent music scenes in both cities, bringing onboard an eclectic range of artists to contribute to their music. Short Wave Craft is a duo at heart, though with a collective mentality and spirit. The incredible history of one half of the duo Dominic Owen is nothing short of legendary having been in Brooklyn at the height of the golden age of hip hop, where in 1993 his musical home became High Class Productions in Brownsville, Brooklyn where he became head engineer and producer. At this infamous studio many of the 90’s Hip Hop legends like Notorious B.I.G, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, M.O.P. Raekwon and AZ would pass through, as well as future R&B giants Anthony Hamilton and Angie Stone. With this sort of legacy and his new partner in crime Tom Carr, Short Wave Craft are clearly building a new wave of unique trip hop, combined with soul and dream pop that is sure to keep 2023 fully hyped as they prepare to come through with a further EP and full length album.

We Speak Jazz
Babé Sila returns with ‘Forever (Bhebbak)’, a soulful meditation on intercultural love

Budapest-born, London-based singer-songwriter Babé Sila is back with a luminous new single, Forever (Bhebbak), now available on all platforms. With this track, she proves her ability to turn deeply personal moments into something universal. Rooted in a timeless Middle Eastern folk melody made famous by Fairuz, Forever (Bhebbak) (which means “I love you” in Lebanese dialect) is both a love letter and a reflection, on intimacy, memory and the quiet hope that love can outlast the moment it’s born in.
The song takes us on a cross-continental journey, musically and emotionally. From its bossa nova rhythms and Spanish guitar to the hypnotic jazz piano and floating flutes, the soundscape carries the weight of shared heritage and fragile longing. Babé Sila explains how the melody’s legacy, heard across Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Andalusian households, mirrors her own experience of loving across cultures and identities. “As someone with ties to parts of this heritage, in love with someone who shares parts of it too, I felt an instinctive pull towards it… It carries a legacy that has connected communities for generations—just as it connected us, despite our different backgrounds. It’s a shared melody that could act as a reminder how music and culture can build bridges, bringing us back to the common human experiences we all share” she says, and it shows.
Familiar yet foreign, delicate & magnetic, Forever (Bhebbak) feels like a delicious memory you haven’t lived yet. Succeeding to Summer Sings, it continues to introduce us to Babé Sila’s upcoming EP, I Told The Sun About You, dropping June 20. If this single is any indication, the project promises to be an intimate exploration of love in all its emotional complexity.
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