Song Premiere
IO
KAN WAKAN ft. Saigo
Εδώ ένα εξαιρετικό track που ακούτε σήμερα αποκλειστικά από την Υπόγα: "ΙΟ" από τον KAN WAKAN, ο οποίος κατάγεται από την Βουλγαρία αλλά ζει και δημιουργεί στο Los Angeles.
ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ
Kan Wakan’s Gueorgui Linev returns with a brand new single IO – a track which beautifully fuses the young producer’s cinematic approach with SAÍGO’s warm and intensive vocals, this time delivered with a cautious message.
IO tells the story of humans being replaced by A.I., our ambivalence about this process, and poses the question of how we'll be treated by our synthetic descendants (if they keep us around).
“Happier in a hive / Workin’ on the rent / What’s the point / to dream of something else?”, croons SAÍGO before touching upon more futuristic topics, backed by Linev’s analogue yet forward looking sound: “The open market sells attention / Anything could be invention / Who pulled the lever, why did you do it again?”
The politically-charged track is accompanied by a video, self-directed by Kan Wakan, starring César-nominated actor Paul Hamy as a bare-knuckle boxer struggling to win against an invisible opponent, a personification of society’s efforts to catch a breath and land a counter-punch. The video is a collaboration with Sturshel Productions, Alexander Stanishev (DOP) and Denislav Marinov (Edit & Color).
By unveiling IO, Linev and SAÍGO – at one point both based in California now living in South America and Europe respectively – improve and expand on their previous work together: you can revisit the delicate and introspective ‘No Sweat off My Back’, the more playful ‘On Your Shoulders’ or the haunting Phantasmagoria Vol. II opener ‘Worst of Me’.
IO is the latest chapter in Linev’s whirlwind career. Through Kan Wakan, the Bulgaria-born, US-raised songwriter creates inviting, soulful worlds by weaving together analog and orchestral textures. Every Kan Wakan track is an immersive surrender that brings rapture to the weary and finesse to the wild. A phenomenon in the fast-paced and algorithmic makeover of contemporary music.
Linev’s expertise has been employed by the likes of Thundercat and Moses Sumney, among others, and most recently caught the attention of rapper Baby Keem. A re-imagining of Linev's ‘Unlucky’ sits as the third track on Baby Keem’s Grammy-nominated, Billboard-charting album The Melodic Blue. The same track also features as the opening number on the short documentary by the same, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Early on, Linev was named one of Yahoo! Music’s 11 Best New Artists, signed to Verve at Universal Music Group, and listed as one of LA Weekly’s 10 Best Young LA Songwriters along with artists such as Frank Ocean.
From his elegantly ethereal debut album, 'Moving On' (which hit #37 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart), to the sublimely angular, 'Phantasmagoria Vol. I' (which spread like wildfire in the world of TV placements), Kan Wakan explores “the borders of trip-hop, acoustic balladry, and psychedelia" (The Fader), tempting the listener to abandon the bottomless scroll for a charming slow burn.
‘Phantasmagoria Vol. I’ went on to make headlines at Nylon, KCRW, Hype Machine, and features his hometown heroes, The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, on string arrangements. ‘Phantasmagoria Vol. II’ followed in 2021 to acclaim.
In 2023, while working on the next Kan Wakan phase, Linev also debuted Woomb, a duo with young singer-songwriter Hristo Yordanov, which quickly gained attention for their intensive live performances and poignant songs like ‘Last Rays’. Sirius XM’s David Frick promptly called the duo, now finishing an EP, “so young, so new, already so good live”.
