Drawing us in with a high octane, liquid drum and bass energy with cerebral textures and guitar twangs, Neon Diffraction opens Stay a While with intrigue and intricacy. The opus expands with subversive yet futuristic bass motifs as we experience blues vocals from Fenton King with situational, expressive prose delivered with poetic prowess and a timeless allure.
There is something immediately refreshing about the juxtaposition at play. Fenton King‘s soulful, blues-infused delivery feels rooted in live music traditions, almost improvised, whilst the 174 BPM liquid drum and bass production pulls the track into a futuristic, atmospheric universe.
Instead of using the vocal as a conventional dance topline, Neon Diffraction builds the electronic landscape around the songwriting, allowing the emotional weight of the performance to remain firmly at the centre. We deeply connect with this approach.
The rolling breaks create momentum, whilst the spacious textures and deep bass leave enough room for Fenton’s voice to breathe and his raspy Southern twang to shine though. The Americana guitar melodies add another organic layer, almost grounding the track as the production continues to move into increasingly cerebral territory. It feels like blues music has stepped through a portal and emerged somewhere much further into the future.
There is no doubt that fans of London Elektricity, Calibre, LTJ Bukem, Lenzman and Hybrid Minds would be able to connect with the electronic dimension of what has been created, but the blues and soul foundations give Stay a While a very different emotional character from a conventional drum and bass production. Fenton’s voice carries the human experience, whilst Rupert Goddard‘s production provides the kinetic environment around it.
There is definite sync potential here, and we could imagine the track appearing in the Oscar-winning One Battle After Another, or perhaps a TV show such as Black Mirror, Industry, or The Night Manager. What makes the collaboration even more compelling is the way it super cohesively brings together two seemingly different musical worlds. Fenton King, formerly of Sick as Thieves, brings the blues phrasing and soulful character, whilst Neon Diffraction is the project of producer Rupert Goddard, whose approach combines atmospheric liquid drum and bass with modern blues, soul and emotionally driven songwriting.
We also appreciate that Stay a While is the first release in a four-part collaborative series between Neon Diffraction and Fenton King. Needless to say, we are intrigued by this meeting of musical spirits and have added Stay a While to our New Music Spotlight playlist and TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream the Downtempo Mix, which is super TikTok friendly, and anticipate the remaining three releases.