Feature

Gambimi: The fresh option

For over fifty years musical knowledge has been administered to the masses by Blues & Soul magazine - indeed, the magazine that celebrates music of black origin has been one of the forerunners to highlight ‘fresh’ talent that ‘you’ should place on your musical radar. Amy Winehouse and Emeli Sandé to name but 2 artists in a long line of talent, have gone on to be certified successes post some Blues & Soul gassing.

So to that effect, how about checking out the name Gambimi - the Birmingham singer / songwriter, born in the Congo?

While his official musical career only begun a year ago - music has been an ever present force in his life; “I come from a family where a few of my aunts used to sing in a church choir so it has always been a part of my DNA. It was a year or so ago that I really decided to take it seriously - it was at that time that I realised that music was the only passion that I really wanted to take seriously”.

So in a change from the usual young UK male looking to push his musical talent in the genre of Grime, Gambimi will be forging his name within the sounds of UK RnB/soul. “I think there is great talent here in the UK, but I see there is a gap in the market and I think that I can fill that gap”. A big statement by the man who managed to fit into his fledging CV support for the global names of; Madonna and Beenie Man. His debut single “Waters” has followed and it is…how do they say? A ‘banger’.

“We felt it was a great commercial RnB song - because I am trying to bring RnB back to the UK but still trying to keep that commercial feel. We felt it will set the tone for people coming into contact with me for the first time.”

Produced by his long-term collaborator Viv, the track fulfils the quota for ‘commercial’ viability - it has that slow jam feel while being blessed with a tight hook and chorus as Gambimi manages to bring alive a banging track loaded with sexual innuendo, without the track coming across as crass and unnecessarily lascivious. It’s a great debut and the track ultimately states with assurity that Gambimi can sing.

Off the back of the growing success of “Waters”, Gambimi will be following-up quite quickly with a more substantial project which will feature his debut single. If he can reproduce the quality of his debut Single then the young guy from Brum will, and should be, a name who goes onto success after getting a bit of shine from ye olde faithful, Blues & Soul.

The single "Waters" is out now on Warner Music.
Words Semper Azeez-Harris