It’s with great pleasure to announce the anticipated release of it takes a village, the sophomore album from Berlin-based, Aotearoa/New Zealand artist Noah Slee.
Speaking on the creation of the immense project, Slee expands; ‘it takes a village’ is a very special project for me. One of those magical comings together of the most beautiful souls. It’s a small insight into the creative community here in Berlin I’m apart of. We sing about the complexities of life and we sing about the struggles we face. We sing about hope but not forget about addressing injustices. It’s layered and insightful. I know as a creative I’ll look back one day and be proud of what WE produced. Something for the times, addressing the past and optimism for the future.’
Combining influences of soul, RnB and alternative pop, it takes a village is an exploration into vulnerability, community, empowerment and culture. Previous singles, ‘RISE (feat. LVJ)’, ‘HEALING’ and most recently, ‘GOLDEN (feat Joy Denalane)’, only scrape the surface of what this dynamic and soulful body of work has to offer.
Behind the lyricism of focus track, ‘CULTURE (feat. Mulay)’, Noah Slee expands; ‘I love this song, it’s personal for me. It celebrates culture and owning that part of my identity. It’s definitely been a journey for me to get to this point! Happy to share this moment with Mulay. We had some in depth discussions about what this theme means to US and it was empowering and inspiring to break bread and share our stories and now have all of you partake’.
This week Noah Slee sets off on his Europe and UK headline it takes a village tour, playing shows across five countries and eight cities. Tickets on sale now here.
Noah Slee is an artist for whom the term ‘community’ is a defining factor in his creativity. Be it in the relatively recent sense of belonging found as part of the free-thinking, queer community of Berlin, the community he is forever tied to through his Tongan roots, or the artist community he cultivates through running grass-roots events which strives to support home-grown Berlin talent.
Known for slick and evocative vocals, Slee was well and truly put on the map with the release of 2017 debut album Otherland (Wondercore Island / Majestic Casual), for which he was awarded two prestigious Pacific Music Awards in 2018. Fast forward a couple of years, a couple of international tours and tens of millions streams later and Slee continued pushing boundaries with his 2019 EP TWICE. The EP was crafted largely by Slee himself with help from his Berlin dynasty of trusted creatives but also showcasing talent from all corners of the globe.
While the indie-club artist holds nostalgia for growing up in a Tongan household in West Auckland, Aotearoa, New Zealand, Slee is resolute about his choice to pack up his life and move to Germany in 2015. It’s a long way from home but ‘a big part of being in Berlin was coming into myself’ he admits. Slee’s work has seen support from the likes of Zane Lowe, BBC1, Clash, Complex and Nylon. Relishing in the potential forces of the arts, Noah Slee is as determined as ever to create wavy ground swells with his heart opening breezy r&b dance jams.
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