Rex Orange County – Warmth In Music
“With the sheets like weights and brain tied down to a stone cold pillow” sings Rex Orange County in “Japan” on his debut album - a jazzy electric piano and looped drum sample in the background. One might just assume that Rex Orange County is just another Indie pop singer but oh how wrong they’d be. Meet Alex O’Connor, a 20-year-old singer from England who’s making waves in the industry. Debuting when he was just 16, the English R&B singer has been featured on projects by bigger and more well-known artists such as Tyler (the creator on his newest album, Flower boy) and being scouted and invited on tracks by Tyler himself. What did Tyler see in the otherwise underground singer? Today, I’ll be talking about Rex and his innate ability to give his music warmth that no other artist I've heard. Rex Orange County is by no means an amazing singer; he doesn't possess the vocal chops of other more mainstream artists such as Adele, Brandon Urie and even Bruno Mars. In fact, his vocals sound almost amateur, it isn't conventionally powerful or impressive, however when he sings, there’s a certain timbre that’s all so inviting and comfortable You can’t really pin it down but you know it’s there; the melodies and the songs he sings are really easy to sing along to, the way he sings sounds almost confessional, almost intimate with the listener. You feel a sense of comfort when he sings and it's extraordinary how he conveys emotions without needing to belt out his lyrics or sing with such power that could level a building; he conveys it all through the power of a normal voice, a voice that all of us can have. Instead of having something so immensely powerful or impressive, his normal vocals is something that is ironically uncommon in music today - that’s what sets him apart. Listening to his songs and lyrics reveals that he’s just an ordinary teen living a dream through his ability to just sound comfortable. He tends to incorporate a lot of jazz elements into his music - using jazzy chords and instrumentals in his compositions. Rex wears his influences on his sleeves and is proud of it, and for all the right reasons too. The jazzy vibes of his electric guitars and piano compliments the comfortable timbre of his voice that further accentuates a relaxing sound scape that after a long day of work or school - just what we all need. Rex has been getting a lot of media attention lately, following his appearance on the aforementioned Tyler to almost winning the BBC Sound of 2018 award beating out artists such as Khalid and Billie Eilish. While this is great for him, his fan base worries that he might lose that normality that we fell in love with in the first place, but one can only wait and watch. In the meantime, he has released two albums and a bunch of singles that you can listen to right now, I personally recommend “Sunflower”, “Loving is easy” and “Best friend”, as well as his latest album, “Apricot Princess”. Don’t sleep on this artist and give his music a shot, you’ll never know what you might find!
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