Premiere: Skilaa Share Single 'But I Do'

Tāmaki Makaurau neo-soul dream team Skilaa have been leaving listeners wanting more since their debut track ‘Bluffin’ hit the airwaves in 2018, drip feeding delectable student radio favourites and quelling fans with frequent live shows. Today the experimental RnB outfit share ‘But I Do’, the third single from their upcoming, yet-to-be-named debut EP, which is expected to drop some time in the coming months, featuring unreleased songs ‘Travelling’ and ‘Fantasy Life’. Not easily pigeon-holed, vocalist and songwriter Chelsea Prastiti leant a hand describing Skilaa's style; they draw inspiration from Mediterranean / Greek Cypriot / Balgarian aka melismatic styles, and find influence from artists like Ethiopian singer GIGI and Noura Mint Semali from Mauritania. 'But I Do' soars in with a folk-rock intro, quickly dropped for soulful jazz and pop melodies, with harmonic perfection provided at live shows by back-up vocalists Lea Anae and Crystal Choi. Bassist Tom Dennison dances around Adam Tobeck's effortlessly complex drums, segueing into Prastiti's outstanding vocal solo, with songwriter Michael Howell maintaining fresh, flittering guitar from go to whoa.

Chelsea Prastiti revealed some of the ideas behind the new drop: "Lyrically, this song is about having feelings that just won’t go away despite your best efforts, and resorting to substance abuse in order to numb them. The line 'So I just keep on fading' in particular is illustrating that daily routine of trying to forget someone (which is sadly impossible!). Generally though there is supposed to be an element of hope in this song - the person with the feelings hasn’t given up on this strategy yet! Musically, we are playing with putting vocal improvisation into a pop context :3"

Skilaa have a pair of North Island release shows in the calendar for later this month to celebrate 'But I Do', peep the full tour rundown and get swept up in the new track below...

Skilaa 'But I Do' Release Tour
Friday 24th January - Wine Cellar, Auckland w/ Dead Little Penny, Lucky Boy
Saturday 25th January - Rogue & Vagabond, Wellington w/ Rumble Pak

Skilaa's debut EP is out in autumn 2020.