Fresh from winning over audiences as support on Saba’s sold out UK/EU Back Home Tour, Dutch-Sudanese R&B/Soul singer-songwriter Gaidaa – who burst onto the international music scene in 2020 with her widely praised debut EP Overture – makes her return today with the release of her new upbeat single Figures.
Co-produced by West Coast hitmaker Hollywood Cole (who has worked with the likes of Queen Naija, Latto, Lil Wayne) alongside Antwerp-based producer/composer/pianist Lorenzo Kobina, Figures marks Gaidaa’s first release of 2022, and arrives hand-in-hand with a moving visual.
Written and directed by Segraphy with Joachim Spruijt, the heartwarming video features a renewed and self-assured Gaidaa taking center stage as her silky smooth, soulful vocals stretch from laidback verses into a falsetto-driven infectious hook demonstrating the scope of her signature style and talent.
Sharing her thoughts on the inspiration behind the song, Gaidaa explains:
“Figures is about the way we as a society can get lost in the sauce of the cyclical and mundane nature of our day to day lives. It’s a reminder that though we are individuals trying to forge our own path, we will always exist as part of something greater and more meaningful (though we may not always realize it). Figures is about the realization that even through the harsh static of it all, there is a fluidity and interconnectedness that’s innate in us.”
Growing up between The Netherlands and Sudan, a 2017 cover of Kehlani shared online caught the attention of fellow Dutch producer and artist Full Crate and together they crafted A Storm On A Summer’s Day which has since amassed over 22 million streams to date on Spotify alone. Fast forward to July 2020, the Dutch-Sudanese artist captivated listeners with her breakout debut album Overture featuring hit single Morning Blue – which Gaidaa premiered on COLORS – and the Apple Music Best Song of 2020 standout Stranger with Chicago rapper/producer Saba and Dutch producer Jarreau Vandal. The album incorporated influences from Neo-Soul and classic jazz and showcased the development of Gaidaa’s rich sound characterized by her warm, smoky vocals.
The last two years have proven that the 23-year-old independent R&B/Soul singer-songwriter is at the forefront of a new generation of artists accessing soul in its purest form through organic R&B punctuated by acoustic instrumentation and lyrics laced with vulnerability.