Donae’O has joined forces with rising Tottenham artist Ekeno on new heater ‘Ride With Me’ out 22nd April on Donae’O’s imprint Zephron Recordings.
Melding elements of Amapiano with a Donae’O’s signature sound of UK Funky, ‘Ride With Me’ combines smooth sax and percussion with a bumping bassline while Ekeno effortlessly glides over the beat with his smooth flow. His second single release of the new year, it follows ‘Good Mood’, Donae’O’s collaboration with UK singer-songwriter Terri Walker put out on the legendary Defected.
Donae’O is entering a new phase of his career, where his focus is to utilise his platform to showcase a range of talent that he feels deserve more exposure in the UK scene and beyond. In his own words, he explains, “I want to give new artists and artists I respect a platform to shine. So I’ve set up Zephron Records And I’ve found 10 artists I’d like to showcase to the world. Terri Walker was the first artist and luckily Defected/ The Remedy signed the song. Ekeno is the second artist I’d like to showcase to the world. I’ve always loved Ekeno’s vocal tone. I feel he has the most unique male singing voices in the country and I wanted to help him develop that.”
Talking about his goals with the track, he continues, “Ride With Me is a fusion of Amapiano, UK Funky, Hip Hop and R&B. My aim with all of my releases is to get everyone dancing again and to also bring some good vibes back in the UK club environment.”
A producer, songwriter, rapper and vocalist, Donae’O has been an early adopter of almost all crucial black music movements coming out of the capital – from garage to grime to the UK funky-inspired house that continues to influence today’s charts. Last year he tapped into the burgeoning amapiano sound with acclaimed singles ‘Mufasa’ and ‘She Belongs To The Night’.
Not stopping there, Donae’O will embark on a UK tour in May, including shows in Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and his hometown of London.
Ekeno is best known for his collaboration with Abra Cadabra on ‘Trouble’ a single that has racked up 1.1 million YouTube hits and 750,000 Spotify streams. More recently he dropped the revered single ‘Diamonds’ via GRM Daily, amassing over 100,000 YouTube streams in the process.
Donae’O kicks off 2022 with the kind of scintillating, cross-genre output that he has built his reputation on.
Tour Dates
24th May – The Cluny, Newcastle
25th May – G2, Glasgow
27th May – Manchester Academy 3, Manchester
28th May – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
29th May – The Fleece, Bristol
30th May – The Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
31st May – XOYO, London
1st June – Pryzm, Nottingham