Last year, illusive, Los Angeles based, indie dance producer Listenbee released
“Save Me,” a triumphant debut which to date has amassed over 35 million
Spotify plays reached the number #2 position on HypeMachine, and
spawned a controversial video shot entirely on the island of Grenada.
Released on Lokal Legend,
the home of singer-songwriter Kiesza, “Save Me” became an international
underground hit. Praised as both masterful and cinematic, the song
spawned a slew of re-mixes from artists including SeeB, Tez Cadey, Ferry
Corsten and more.
This week, Listenbee returns with his sophomore single, the soulful and extra ordinary “Nottamun Town.” Says Listenbee regarding the release,
“When
I first heard Jean Ritchie’s version of ‘Nottamun Town,’ I felt like I
had stumbled into some kind of cool ass time warp. I could feel the
history in it. I wanted to create a song that could exist in the modern
world but still have the pulse and feeling of all that history. This
song is special to me, and I hope it captures people’s imaginations the
same way it captured mine.”
Lokal Legend label owner Rami Afuni also talks about the song, saying,
“Save
me really took on a life all of it’s own, we obviously loved the track
when we released it, but we did not really expect it to live for over a
year. Listenbee has been in the studio pretty consistently working on
original material and remixes since the beginning of the year and has
created a brilliant body of work. Nottamun Town however is very special
and we are happy to finally bring the world his second single.”
Built
upon a deep and illustrious heritage, the story of “Nottamun Town” is
one that is soundly ingrained in history. Maintaining its folk roots
with a modern dance edge, Listenbee’s interpretation of “Nottamun Town”
continues its lineage of evolving through the years. Boasting a rich
arrangement of beats, strings, horns, guitars and tambourines, the song
features a soaring and original vocal from “Deb’s Daughter.” Listenbee
has re-invented and breathes new life into this piece of history.
Said
to have originated as far back as Medieval England, the folk tale of
“Nottamun Town” quickly became a far-reaching oral tradition, spreading
overseas and through the Appalachian Mountains over time. Enchanted by
the song’s mysterious nature as a child, legendary folk singer Jean
Ritchie brought the song into prominence in the 1950s. Determined to
unlock the secret behind it, Ritchie traveled to Nottingham, the rumored
home of the song. When asked what the song might mean, the locals slyly
replied with a simple phrase: “If the meaning is found, the magic is
lost.”