Marco McKinnis and Chet Faker

Today I have music for you by another artist I had the opportunity to watch at SXSW. Marco McKinnis is an artist who has taken R&B to new levels of seductive and creates music that is incredibly refreshing.

This track is a dangerously sultry one. Marco McKinnis pulls us in with his vocals prowess and delivers an R&B ballad which proves that he really is in his element. The song is effortlessly smooth, drenched in a seductive soul and passion. I love that we can hear the old school soul influences throughout the track. The way Marco McKinnis holds his voice tells us how sure he is about his sound and style. There is a confidence there which makes this song sound and feel organic and natural. His voice is silky smooth, with the texture, richness, and sweetness of molasses. Marco McKinnis immerses this track in his deeply soulful and yearning voice. There is tantalizing tease in his voice, yearning and arms outstretched to welcome us into the embrace of his music. Marco McKinnis embellishes the track with gorgeous harmonies and highlighted melodies, his voice exploring and traversing the scale. The vocals in this track just melt you, and leave you lusting for more.

The instrumental accompaniment to this song is relatively simple. The main focus of the track is in fact of Marco McKinnis' voice, but there is something haunting and alluring about the simplicity in the backing track. The most prominent instrumental voice is from the percussion. We get a nice and slow beat, steady and rhythmic but not overly energetic. A subtler voice in the background comes from the synthesizers. The melodies carried by the synthesizers is very simple, a string of long held notes. But what makes these simple lines so important is that they form a pitch base from which everything stems. There is a conversation between Marco McKinnis' pitch and that held by the synthesizers. The nuances are ever so slight, but it gives the track this smokey and haunting kind of sultry sound. Adding what I believe may be a guitar melody, not only do we get a bit of a rhythmic element, but we also get a complimentary and dynamic voice to Marco McKinnis' performance. Again, a faint and slight layer of sound, but it adds that hint of nostalgia to the track. The production is just as detailed and nuanced, but speaks of simplicity.

Marco McKinnis is an R&B singer who leaves us desiring so much more. And thankfully, we have a store of his music to listen to through SoundCloud. I absolutely love him, and am so grateful I got to hear him in person! The music industry needs Marco McKinnis, and I except some incredible things are heading his way. This is an artist you need to follow!

Today's instrumental song is by another R&B artist who carries a similar mood and style as Marco McKinnis. Chet Faker is a name which many people in the R&B and indie spheres of music, are very aware of. Chet Faker has done some phenomenal work in bringing the two genres and styles together, delivering masterpiece after masterpiece. The Australian singer has made waves in the music world, and has worked with so many artists. Not to mention, he is also the artist behind one of my favorite covers, but that is a post for another day. I hope you enjoy the music and please feel free to comment!

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