Swedish powerhouse MASAKA delivers his debut EP & short film LATE 20'S LOVE AFFAIR
Fast-rising Swedish trailblazer MASAKA explores complex love across his hotly anticipated debut EP Late 20’s Love Affair and featured short film journeying through each lead video.
Equal parts rugged, tender, and potent, MASAKA’s enriched, dystopian approach has quickly become a standout across the European landscape. Utilising eclectic soundwaves pulled from contemporary pop and indie, his debut EP emerges as a passionate love letter painting vivid silhouettes of heartbreak and vulnerability. Elevated by his spellbinding vocals and emotive, tongue-in-cheek lyricism, the rising musician reconciles with the intimate experiences that left his reality in disarray – an intricate parallel to uncover before self-reflection and enlightenment gradually blossoms within these darker spaces. A compelling patchwork of textures laced with melodic intimacy, Late 20’s Love Affair looks set to solidify MASAKA as a significant voice crashing into UK consciousness.
With electric vocal layering mixed by Fredrik Okazaki (Yung Lean, FKA Twigs, Skrillex), the 6-track EP opens with the atmospheric tracks “dngr” and “Ragdoll” - celestial synths and woozy basslines open pockets for MASAKA to flaunt his explosive vocal melodies, while depicting the complex emotions that blur the lines between love and lust.
Manoeuvring through electronic ballads “No Cap” and “ATV”, we reach the apex of MASAKA’s genre-melting approach across “LIGHTS” ft Year0001 talent Stella Explorer. Boasting wailing strings that complement the highly acclaimed Stockholm artist’s melancholic cadence, an intoxicating ego takes control when faced with a complex love interest before MASAKA’s inspired vocals envision the battle towards self-realisation once the dust has settled.
Closing off the EP shines “SHOoOOK” – a beautifully striped back canvas for MASAKA to self-reflect on his inner spirit, rising through the hard times and reminiscing on these experiences as a therapeutic outlet to grow.
With enriched sound waves shining through every aspect of his artistry, MASAKA has been surrounded by powerful influences from an early age. Growing up in a Ugandan and Swedish household, his father was a renowned world music producer who would host residential musicians every week. The home studio quickly became MASAKA’s playground to create and develop his artistry, producing, writing and recording his tracks before he found refuge in the world of Jazz music.
MASAKA earned a scholarship at Berklee College Of Music in Boston, USA – the largest independent university of contemporary music in the world. While studying modern Jazz and steadily perfecting his craft as a bassist, the rising musician began performing in local jazz clubs before going on tour with three-time GRAMMY Award-Winning musician Terri Lyne Carrington, where he graced The Hollywood Bowl and The Monterey Jazz Festival. Now fully integrated into jazz culture, MASAKA has rubbed shoulders with international stars like Patti Smith, Ledisi, and Immanuel Wilkins to name a few, while also regularly travelling to New York City to perform at some of the most iconic underground venues incl. Smalls Jazz Club and Ornithology.
Fully immersed in a renewed sense of purpose and self-assurance, Late 20’s Love Affair will no doubt mark MASAKA as a key name across a new era for Sweden’s contemporary music culture.