The London-based singer outlines the feeling of hesitation that often lingers around commitment
London-based artist Joshua Ieuan Williams, known mononymously as Ieuan, takes on love, heartbreak and all related complications in his brand new single “What Are U Looking For?.” Although just 19-years old, the vocalist leaves a deep impression by pairing lush, haunting minimalist R&B with his effortlessly smooth vocals to outline the feeling of hesitation that often lingers around commitment.
“The song is a fictional story I wrote in my head after meeting someone in London after just getting out of a year-long relationship,” the 19-year-old singer explains. “The boy was just a mutual friend of someone I’d known for a while, but the song basically wrote itself after that night. He asked ‘what are you looking for?’ in regards to my life and all, but I couldn’t answer because I was thinking to myself ‘damn that’s a good song name.'”
The artwork for Ieuan’s “What Are U Looking For?”
The track’s relatability comes from the lyrics that describe being attracted to someone but thinking twice about diving headfirst into a serious relationship. “I’m never really ready to commit…Â I love the way you dance, yeah/Just don’t ask/Just don’t ask/What are you looking for? (Don’t you tell me you need me).”
“What Are U Looking For?” keeps it simple on instrumentals with slow, rolling trap but the addition of a few subtle details like the addition of bird-like sounds and wavy synth in the background add an eeriness that immediately appeals. Pulsing bass and injections of breathy harmonies elevate Ieuan’s sleek vocals. The results are sexy, mysterious and just a tad melancholic.
Ieuan reveals the track was made in a burst of last-minute creativity towards the end of producing his upcoming mixtape Over The Garden Wall. “I was almost finished with my album and needed one more track to round the whole project off, but I couldn’t think of anything,” he recalls. “I was then out in London for a week working with different producers just to get a feel of what it’s like to create something from scratch with another artist and, within three hours of one of the sessions, we had this song.”
Over The Garden Wall is set to drop this Sunday but Ieuan plans on being back in the studio for his next project as soon as possible. “I release new music every few months, so after this is done, I plan to take a five minute break and then get back to writing.”
Hear Ieuan’s “What Are U Looking For?” below:
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