Berlin based Indonesian soul-pop singer-songwriter TÓKE is poised to announce a brand new release with the arrival of ‘The Sun Has Died’, lifted from the forthcoming 5-track EP ‘The Art of Letting Go’ due this summer and is accompanied by a lush, verité style visual clip directed by Alex Kleis & Tóke.
Drawing on a myriad of influences from Pop, Soul, RnB and Reggae, ‘The Sun Has Died’ is an authentic, stark commentary on our current social climate fusing a hypnotic rolling melody over TÓKE‘s emotive delivery. He explains: “This song is inspired by the story of a close friend, who had to flee from home to start a new life in a completely new surrounding. I want to contribute to changing the narrative around the notion of flight by tapping into the psychological & emotional landscape of an individual who flees from home. These human beings are often solely seen as a ‘number’ or a part of one homogeneous group that is ‚’the refugees’. Many don’t understand the fundamental reality that we’re talking about individuals with an individual life story, with individual emotions, with individual perspectives. We need to change that.“
About the video: “In this captivating, minimalistic visual we see actor Majd Saad unveiling his raw emotion in a stunning fashion, internally wandering through his past in the pure setting of the Brandenburg Forest in Germany.”
The concept of letting go is something that has been accompanying Tóke from his childhood growing up in Indonesia. “When I was nine years old I moved to a little village in Germany from one of the world’s largest capitals in Jakarta, Indonesia. So I learned from early on that life is all about adapting to changes. Within that process of adapting and accepting, letting go plays an essential role. You have to learn to let go of ideas, expectations, even people. I like the idea of seeing it as an art form worth mastering, one that builds our peace of mind on the long run.“
‘The Art Of Letting Go’ EP, produced by FLKS (Berlin) and Meekeska (Milan/Italy), is Tóke’s most mature body of work to date, presenting the Indonesian-German artist from a fresh sounding, more grown-up perspective. The multi-instrumentalist appears as a playful songwriter, presenting lyrics that are self-reflective, highly intricate and yet easily relatable. Over a span of five songs Tóke holds conversations about Self-Identity (Brown Face), Self-Confidence (Own Lane), the devastating complexity of having to flee home (The Sun Has Died), the crushing clarity of a hopeless relationship (Summer Lightning) or the tingling magic of a new romantic encounter (I Don’t Know). The remix for ‘Brown Face’ features heavyweight indonesian rappers Mario Zwinkle and Tuantigabelas.
Germany’s 3x Newcomer Of The Year, regular live shows on some of the genre’s biggest stages like Summerjam Festival (Cologne, Germany) and collaborations with Major Lazer’s own Walshy Fire have elevated him to the status of one of Europe’s most exciting newcomers in pop. Now he is continuing his creative evolution towards a distinct sound that is not restricted to one single genre, but rather an honest reflection of his intriguing, multi-faceted personality.
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