‘it takes a village’ by Noah Slee

Noah Slee’s artistry comes just as much from the people around him as from within himself. He has moved through various communities in his life, from the Tongan community he grew up in, to the overlapping queer and artistic communities of his new home Berlin, to the club culture where he’s found a musical home. They’ve all fuelled his art in different yet crucial ways.

That spirit has always been at the heart of his music, but it’s never been more important than in his aptly titled second album, ‘it takes a village’, whose title acknowledges the timeworn musical truth that there’s never truly such thing as a solo artist.

Seven of the nine tracks on the album tag in key collaborators alongside Slee, such as the celebration of communal identities shared with Malay on “CULTURE”, or in the thoughtful spoken-word opening of “GREED” by OKCandice the poet or the smoothly languid bars in “RISE”, featuring L V J. All the way through, it’s Slee’s unique genre-hopping sensibilities at the centre – an artist unafraid to cede the stage, yet always telling stories that are personal to him.

On the album, Slee comments, “‘it takes a village’ is a very special project for me. One of those magical comings together of the most beautiful souls. It’s a small insight into the creative community here in Berlin I’m apart of. We sing about the complexities of life and we sing about the struggles we face. We sing about hope but not forget about addressing injustices. It’s layered and insightful. I know as a creative I’ll look back one day and be proud of what WE produced. Something for the times, addressing the past and optimism for the future.”