Deradoorian (Decisive Pink, Dirty Projectors) returns with ‘Ready for Heaven’, dealing with heaven and earth, damnation and salvation. It is a classic forty-minute set of inquisitive pop songs, blessed with a lightness of touch and a sharp focus that can’t help but charm the listener. It conjures up some last, faint afterglow of the old belief that an electronic, programmed beat can smash itself - and you - into another, more egalitarian consciousness.

It is a remarkable fact that this bold and open-hearted record is made by one person, working alone. Repeatedly reworking the songs until they were complete is a painstaking process that generated an energy and space where Angel Deradoorian could indulge in the arcana of her artform. “I love the production more than the songwriting. [...] In fact, I don’t even feel like a songwriter at times, I feel like someone who is just inspired by so much music. And I want to try it all out! Like Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Mingus, or ESG and Silver Apples, or making weird krautrock and industrial music. I love dub, and Sly and Robbie. I love the productions of those records and the collective energies released by their creators in the studio. It’s just a weird thing to do it by yourself!”
  
Engaging with past musical glories helps deal with a major theme of this album; the awful nature of the world around us. Deradoorian: “This album is partly about watching humanity erode. It’s about mental struggle, and it’s avowedly anti-capitalist. I mean; would we have all these identity labels we have to live by, if we didn’t live in a capitalist world?”

A lot of the lyrical content deals with the struggle to be a human being in the modern world, and the determination to keep on keeping on. But even when a darker mood informs a track, as with ‘Hell Island’ or ‘Digital Gravestone’, there are arrangements that seduce and hooks that ensnare.

We are dealing with a world where there is too much chaos to cut through and where human connections are burnt dry. ‘Ready for Heaven’ is an avowedly human response to the world we find ourselves in, and Deradoorian uses every ounce of her reserves of wit and knowledge to create a source of comfort and solace for the listener.

Obongjayar announces his forthcoming album PARADISE NOW due May 30th via September Recordings. The announcement comes alongside his new single “Sweet Danger” and a dynamic accompanying music video. His latest offering serves as a flirtier counterpart to previous single, “Just My Luck,” incorporating sultry guitars and a fanfare of horns as OB sings, “heard you like the bad boys, yeah I’m a bad boy, can’t stop, won’t stop.” Set in a seedy South London hotel, the music video is a montage of larger-than-life characters, each leaning into their own version of beauty and danger.

“Sweet Danger” follows his previously released singles, “Not In Surrender” and “Just My Luck” all of which come together to provide a peek into his forthcoming 15-track album. Produced between London and LA with Kwes Darko (Pa Salieu, John Glacier), Yeti Beats (Doja Cat) and Beach Noise (Kendrick Lamar, Baby Keem, Bakar), PARADISE NOW promises adventure while showcasing OB’s most intimate storytelling yet. He grapples with everything from self-acceptance and transcendence to grief and loneliness, FOMO, procrastinations and never-ending nights, all of which is set to candy-coated electro-pop synths and soaring strings, proving why he is one of the most thrilling voices to come out of the UK to date. Standing testament to Obongjayar’s skilled vocals, the album features no other artists other than his good friend and frequent collaborator Little Simz, with whom OB recently collaborated with on her recent single “Flood.”

The album’s announcement is paired with news of his UK/EU Tour launching this fall. Starting November 14th, OB will take this dynamic stage presence across the UK and EU for a string of shows in Berlin, Cologne, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and London, before playing his largest London show to date at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. Pre-sale will begin April 8th. All tickets will go on sale April 11th at 10 AM GMT via obongjay.ar/live.

Last Summer, Obongjayar launched his intimate party series PARADISE NOW at Ormside Projects which since has seen guests and friends alike pass through to perform including Little Simz, Pa Salieu, Kwes Darko, James Messiah, Dean George, Peter Xan, Lava La Rue, Chi, Kwes, Bikoko, Fredwave, Jeshi and more. His next party will be in May with more information to be announced soon.

About Obongjayar

Born in Lagos and raised in Calabar, Nigeria, before moving to the UK when he was 18 years old, while growing up, Obongjayar found an escape in music. Growing up in Nigeria, Obongjayar gravitated towards American hip-hop and R&B - Eminem, Ciara, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, and his prized possession, a bootleg Nelly and Usher compilation. It wasn’t until moving to London in his late teens that he really began to appreciate Nigeria’s musical heritage. First releasing his own music through Soundcloud, what quickly followed was a string of hugely successful EPs and singles including “God’s Own Children” which earned him an Ivor Novello award. In 2022 he released his debut album Some Nights I Dream of Doors to critical acclaim with praise from the likes of i-D, Crack Magazine, The Guardian, NPR, DIY and more.

With a truly unique sound blending everything from electronic, soul, pop, afro-beat and more, his compelling music characterised by his thoughtful and emotional lyrics have led him to collaborate with everyone from Jeshi to Little Simz to Pa Salieu, and most recently Fred Again... on "adore u," that found the producer sampling Obongjayar's "I Wish It Was Me" and garnering over 225 million streams globally.