Stream/Buy: https://lnk.to/waynesnow-figurine

Out September 24th via @rochemusique 

There’s nothing cold about the music of WAYNE SNOW. The Nigerian-born neo-soul artist has been channeling the sun-kissed, soulful vibes of his homeland ever since his first encounter with a synthesizer as a child. Now Berlin-based, Snow has been spreading warmth and his unique creative vision across the globe together with Roche Musique and highly acclaimed collaborations with FKJ, Folamour, Darius, Max Graef and Glenn Astro. And now he stands ready to release Figurine, his most ambitious solo project yet.  

Across it’s ten tracks, Snow deftly weaves neo-soul, alternative pop, R&B, soultronica, and hints of jazz into a mesmerizing stew. His music is studied and stylish, quiet passages of calm giving way to vivid bursts of energy and colour. Produced together with Crayon, Nu Guinea, Brandt Brauer Frick and featuring acclaimed future-jazz artist Oscar Jerome, Snow employs a delightful array of neat details and flourishes that highlight his compositional brilliance. 

Four years in the making, Figurine is a conceptual, personal work of depth and reflection, one that critically considers humanity’s obsession with masks and our creation of avatars. Inspired as much by nature and the work of social psychologist Erich Fromm, as the music of Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade, Figurine is not a full stop. Rather, it’s an invitation – to think, to probe, and to sink into Snow’s bright, storied music. 

It’s a record based around a simple question - “Who is the real you?” – and led Snow to explore rebirth, individuality, and our unhealthy obsession with social media. Love and our increasing sense of alienation are deconstructed, as is the reality of modern day relationships. And intertwined with all this is Snow’s Nigerian heritage, and the deep sense of pride and admiration he feels towards his country of birth. 

Figurine’s visual identity have been crafted by the album’s Art / Video Director Travys Owen, a collaboration in every sense with another truly visionary artist. The tightly knit creative team was lead by the award winning producer Allison Swank, recent winner of the IMDB Independent Shorts Awards, known for her work with the likes of The Roots, Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, Mumford & Sons and Burnaboy. Shot across  Tankwa Karoo National Park, Johannesburg and Cape Town, the accompanying videos pay homage to Afrofuturism and the vibrancy and beauty of his homeland. Contemporarily styled, figurines dance through otherworldly, colourful landscapes, exploring relationships, both to each other and to nature. The sense of life -of vitality – is palpable; his music, and the message it conveys, is equally as alive. 

Following a string of singles which received critical acclaim from NPR Music, The Evening Standard, Vogue, BBC Radio 1 + 6 Music, Le Monde, Clash, The Vinyl Factory, Notion, Afropunk and L’Obs amongst many others, Wayne recently stepped up to the COLORS stage to deliver a breath taking live performance of the album title track.

FOM (Roche Musique)

Bookings: andre@earth-agency.com 
Management: niko@starling.works

Despite his frosty surname, Wayne Snow encapsulates the word “warmth” in every dimension of his being, both personally and creatively. Taking early inspiration from legends such as Fela Kuti and King Sunny Ade, he has united a global audience from his new home in Berlin, developing a contemporary take on the sun kissed, soulful vibes of his homeland Nigeria. You can feel this warmth blooming in abundance through every song and performance.

Wayne began to experiment with instruments at a very young age after being given a synthesiser by his mother. His first musical breakthrough came in the form of the "Red Runner" EP, released on Tartelet Records in 2014. Working with the widely praised producer Max Graef, the pair wrote both “Under the Moon” and “Red Runner”, which put him firmly on the map of the emerging future soul / jazz scene at the time. Shortly after they dropped the stunning “Rosie” EP as well as the highlight of Max’s album “Running”. These influential first productions led up to the release of his his debut LP “Freedom TV" which was loudly applauded by the music press with glowing reviews from Clash, Mojo, The Fader, VICE,  Boiler Room, Vinyl Factory and championed heavily by influential tastemakers like Gilles Peterson.  

Wayne is also responsible for the “Nightbirds” project which he joined together with globetrotting superstar FKJ and regular collaborator Darius (with whom he wrote the stunning “Helios” and “Lost In A Moment” for France’s Roche Musique). You can find his sublime vocal performances on productions with artists like Folamour, Neue Graffik, Noah Slee and the Circle Of Live collective, or via imprints like Brownswood, Dekmantel, Rhythm Section. He was recently shortlisted by both Crack and Clash magazines as the next artist to breakthrough, something soon to be validated by a stellar, new album in the pipeline.