MUMBAI: Six months ago, Red Bull Music selected 20 artists to be part of this year’s Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp in Canada. Twenty-three year-old Qi Yama was among them. Emerging as a refined vocalist, producer and performer, he is now gearing up for the release of his debut single silent.
Speaking about the song, Qi Yama says, “There’s a different pace and ethos of life [in Africa] and that’s what we needed to go experience for ourselves. You start to slowly see a bigger picture that’s often overlooked in the West. To take that, and not only use it as inspiration for our visual story, but also the music to come was a blessing.”
silent is an intimate track that conjures intense sensations of nostalgia and longing. The ballad, while raw and emotive, is simultaneously cut and shaped with precise lyricism – a poetic ode to the transience of relationships told through his introspective lens.
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Driven by the poetic nature of storytelling, Qi Yama is inspired by his cultural heritage and the ethereal temper of youth and spirituality. His sound floats between R&B and indie-chill wave while holding a raw, passion fuelled tone that could only be described as gritty romanticism.
Born into an immigrant family and as a child of the diaspora, the young artist grew up with a foot in each world and constantly at odds with the different cultural forces in his upbringing. The reconciliation of such differences is a pillar in his craft.
Don’t miss Qi Yama’s performance at Red Bull Music Festival Montreal on 21 September 2019.
Tickets are on sale online. He will also perform at McGill University’s Frosh Concert on 29 August 2019, and at the McGill Open Air Pub on 5 September 2019, which historically amasses an audience of over 4,000 students per show.
Listen and share the single silent via Spotify and Apple Music.
The single is available on all digital platforms.
