Col3trane has just dropped ‘Whatchumacallit’, the singer’s first musical release of the year. Although the 21-year-old is yet to release a full-length LP, a handful of EPs and mixtapes have helped to build his musical profile over the past few years.
What is particularly fascinating about the rising R&B star is his international reach. Unlike most British artists, Col3trane has garnered a large American audience simultaneously alongside his English one. In fact, whilst his London listeners are top of his top five monthly listeners chart on Spotify, the following four spots are taken up by listeners from Los Angeles, Sydney, Toronto, and Chicago. Raised in North London to American parents, his unique upbringing may have allowed him to bridge the Atlantic gap.
The instrumental of ‘Whatchumacallit’ is stripped-back, driven by a looped guitar sample and skittering hi-hats. Coating atmospheric, spacey production with smooth melodic runs, it provides another example of Col3trane’s infectious brand of contemporary R&B.
Nonetheless, his musical style is by no means set in stone; rather, it is constantly changing with each new release. Col3trane has experimented with auto-tuned vocals over trap-style production on ‘Superpowers’ with GoldLink; afrowave-inspired songs like ‘Clutch’ featuring Kiana Lede; and pop-crossover tracks such as ‘Heroine’. Whilst he may be largely defined by his contemporary R&B style, his catalogue stretches far beyond that.
Col3trane discussed his diverse range of musical influences in an interview with Life Without Andy in 2019, something that may account for his eclectic catalogue. At the time, he said, “I think that at the end of the day, these days, everyone is listening to so much different music. I remember when I was little people would ask what kind of music you liked and you’d have to be like, “Oh, I like rap music, or rock music, or dance music, or whatever”, but now it’s like I can wake up and listen to Kaytranada and Thundercat, and then in the evening be listening to Miles Davis, and the next day be listening to Playboi Carti, so there’s so many different influences and so many different sounds that come into play when I make music and I’m sure it’s the same for other artists.”
He added, “For me, because I love listening to so much different music, I enjoy making different music and when I make a project it’s more about curating a mood than it is making a sound that’s universal or specific to a genre. So it’s a lot of different things. With what I do, it’s like, expect the unexpected I might make something that will completely spin your head.”
Indeed, Col3trane’s fan base have learnt to “expect the unexpected” when it comes to his music. Although there has been no album announcement as of yet, 2021 could be the year that Col3trane chooses to surprise his fans with his debut LP.
‘Whatchumacallit’ is available to stream below:
