Speaking last year tendai told The FADER that he had been busy "figuring out who I am and who I want to be," adding that he felt he was in a position to release music "thick and fast." The splurge begins today with the release of the eclectic vocalist's three.one, the first of a trio of three-track releases to roll out in the near future.
tendai, whose mix of yearning vocals and cinematic visuals, brought him into the orbit of Stormzy (he contributed to last year's This Is What I Mean, introduces some lightness to his sound on "Ugh Parents Evening," a video for which is premiering below. The song is built around a skippy 2-step beat and washes of distorted synths as tendai urges someone to "tell me your side of the story." It's urgent and in your face, a fresh energy from an artist whose music so far has been more of a slow-burn. It is accompanied by a video set in a school as a young romance implodes, leading to angry scenes and a new context for the demand for someone else's version of events.
Speaking via email, tendai tells the FADER he wants people to hear "Ugh Parents Evening" and "feel London. This record is what it sounds like to be in Lundun right now, you know?" he explains.
On the subject of his new music and the material he has planned for the future, he adds: "When I think about the triptych, the word that rings out to me is 'freedom.' I believe that it has the ability to free not only myself as an artist, but those who choose to be inspired by it. The freedom to be an artist who makes art, not a music maker on a conveyor belt - a cog in the music industry. I feel it gives me freedom to be more and say more.”