Me and My Friends have just premiered their new video for the single titled ‘Witness on Jammerzine. Sultry and smooth and laced with groove, ‘Witness’ gives that suave impression of a band that gets it. Those cool kids that are quiet during the day yet dictate policy at the venue.
Having said that, we are doubly blessed with a live rendition of their single ‘Witness’. We get that feeling they give you when watching one of those one-of-a-kind bands in their natural setting. I always find it fascinating to watch a band live. You get that make it or break it feeling within the first few bars. What immediately struck me about Me and My Friends is that slow introduction and buildup. That’s hard to pull off with any interest. Here we get how it should be done. With a smooth and subtle flow.
Consider this the gateway drug for your next favorite band. The kind that stick with you through those magical moments when you need a soundtrack for that.
About Me and My Friends and ‘Witness’
Witness is the new single and video from Me and My Friends. After a tumultuous year of protest and resistance, Witness pays tribute to those who document incidents of state violence on their phones, sharing their footage to speak truth to power and initiate waves of social change:
“The guts of those behind the camera in these videos is unbelievable. In capturing the moment, sharing it live, they are flipping their powerlessness to stop the brutality taking place in front of them into a catalyst for much broader conversations on a global scale. I see the song’s message as one of hope, in spite of the violence and injustice it evokes” Singer and songwriter, Nick Rasle.
A languid, sun-soaked groove with richly canonning vocal harmonies, Witness draws inspiration from 70s Brazilian harmony trio Os Tincoas, as well as soul-influenced reggae music, such as Freddie McGregor’s ‘Natural Collie’. This is the final single coming out ahead of Me and My Friends’ forthcoming album Before I Saw The Sea. The quintet will be touring throughout the UK over March-April 2023.
Over the past decade Me and My Friends’ unique blend of Afrobeat inspired grooves, rich vocal harmonies, languidly graceful cello and playfully funky clarinet has carved out their very own niche of sundrenched music for the soul, gaining support from the likes of Cerys Matthews, Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, FiP, Soundway Records and Quantic.
Featured image by Howie Hill