Here’s the fantastic debut number by Toulouse. Cherish it, ’cause, a track dripping so much soul before the summer isn’t what I’d call a common occurrence. Named after the southern city of Toulouse in France (also dubbed “la ville rose” or “The Pink City” because of it’s red brick architecture), Tolu Adeyemo, his real name, is a New York University alumni who studied Recorded Music and now works for a local label and originates from Ibadan, in Nigeria. Toulouse -his stage name- just dropped some of the best soul so far this year. And that’s within only a couple of hours from releasing his debut track on Soundcloud, and a Pigeonandplanes premiere has also helped shed light on this very new talent !

The highlight on the track aside, from the powerful and brilliant delivery of the vocals and lyrics, is the clever use of a the instrumentation. Really deepens the whole affair. Like a James Bond theme if you will. Adds so much drama. A skills most of the artists these days had forgotten to use and replace their sound with synths and other gizmos. BUt when you hear “Hurtin'” for the first time, you’ll get what I’m trying to say. It’s not overly complicated, you know when it’s organic, you can tell. Not processed, squeezed and well puke there as is for you digitally.

And the drama must come from the early years of choir singing, as well as bursting some “well earned moves with Barney on TV every morning before Kindergarten” as he states. He’s got the edgy soul for him, and doesn’t let go until you’ve got hooked. Some parts of his first offering, I thought “darn, he sounds a lot like Leon Bridges, but then, those instruments really start to kick in and just seal the deal. He’s better than Leon Bridges on that level.

https://soundcloud.com/musicbytoulouse/hurtin

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