Fast-rising pop luminary Khazali is back with his hotly anticipated new EP Born For This, out on 13th September.
Khazali’s second EP, Born For This sees the thought-provoking artist dealing with themes of love and loss, delivered via a captivating fusion of classic pop for the modern era, drawing inspiration from his teenage record-sleeve collection of iconic records like The Fame by Lady Gaga, In the Lonely Hour by Sam Smith, Lungs by Florence + the Machine, and Jungle’s self-titled debut album.
“This EP was the result of a life changing year”, the artist says. “After experiencing sudden grief and the breakdown of a relationship, ‘Born For This’ came from my need to process everything I was going through and find some light in the dark.”
Continuing a hot streak for the rising star, the EP includes the singles ‘Did It For Love’, a melodic synth pop treat, and ‘Magic’, which garnered praise for its heartfelt lyricism and masterful production from XL Records mainstay Joe Brown, as well as focus track ‘Silver Necklace’, a dreamily melancholic slow-burner with a soaring synth-driven chorus.
“‘Silver Necklace’ is about the feelings that people leave you with in the things that remind you of them. After going through a breakup and the loss of my mother, it’s a metaphor for how love lingers.”
Elsewhere on Born For This, opener ‘Thinking About It’ sets the tone with a dance pop anthem built on an uptempo groove and funk bass, and title track ‘Born For This’ is a powerful EP centrepiece, combining tribal rhythms with uplifting piano and a singalong hook.
With a knack for catchy, earworm-like melodies, Khazali has created a brand of pop that spans melancholy, euphoria and dreaminess, not unlike the instantly relatable sounds of Arlo Parks, Dua Lipa and Alfie Templeman, with an indie edge reminiscent of The xx and Metronomy. His music has received press support from the likes of CLASH, The Line of Best Fit, Equate Magazine and Notion.
Amassing 10M+ streams despite only releasing his first EP last year, Khazali is hailed as the tastemaker favourite for 2023, with DJ Jaguar Bingham (BBC Radio 1 Dance) among the industry leaders naming him the artist as someone we should all be “really excited about”. Having performed at this year’s Radio 1 Stage at Reading Festival on 25th August, his rising star status has already been solidified by BBC Radio 1’s ‘Future Pop’ and Spotify Radar UK, withRebecca Judd also choosing Khazali as her Ascending Artist on Apple Music Radio.
His debut EP, Going Home, Vol. 1, released in April 2021 via Kitsuné Musique grew quickly to become the label’s top performing new release, and aroused a keen curiosity from a breadth of tastemakers, landing him coveted spots on Awkwafina’s TV show Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, Spotify’s top-tier playlists such as Chill Dance, Alt R&B, Alt-Pop and Ibiza Sunset – as well as consistent support from BBC Radio 1, 1xtra, and BBC Introducing’sHot List. More recently, he also featured this year on Folamour’s stellar single ‘</3 Heartbroken’.
Born For This shows off this fast-rising artist’s knack for euphoric synth pop. Don’t miss this powerful sophomore EP from Khazali.
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