TILLY VALENTINE // 'COINS' - SINGLE REVIEW
ELECTRONIC/TRIP-HOP ARTIST TILLY VALENTINE RELEASES DEBUT SINGLE 'COINS', AS PREMIERED ON BBC RADIO 1XTRA
TILLY VALENTINE - COINS
★★★★☆
Tilly Valentine is an artist that is already starting to turn heads. A graduate of The BRIT School and The Academy of Contemporary Music, Valentine;'s career to date has seen her play a string of festivals and gigs all round the UK - including the O2 Academy in her native Oxford for BBC Introducing. It's long overdue then that her debut single 'Coins' is out in the world: an impressive enough first outing that it got its world premiere on BBC Radio 1Xtra, from none other than Jamz Supernova.
A collaboration with German producer Mattis, 'Coins' opens up in a minimalistic manner and remains so throughout its duration - Valentine delivering her smooth vocal in a conversational fashion, accompanied by a lo-fi electric piano and drum break arrangement. The choruses are marked with a throbbing sub bass synth that briefly threatens to steal the focus away, but glides out of the way gracefully just when needed.
'Coins' is a brief but sweet insight into Valentine's somewhat eclectic artistry, drawing influence from deep electronica, 90's trip hop and her own jazz-influenced background. Fans of Maggie Rogers, Massive Attack and Tom Misch should take note. To accompany the track, there is a particularly stylish video (self-directed by Valentine) that is well worth a watch.