Southeast London, Chinese-Vietnamese-British artist has unveiled his new single ‘Exhale (Point Hill), out via .
‘Exhale (Point Hill)’ represents a personal reckoning for Jianbo and a more potent exploration of the punk-laced, baroque rap of previous single, ‘’. ‘Exhale…’ was built from a guitar loop salvaged from the pedal of his late friend Dominic Morgan, a recording only discovered after Dominic’s passing.
Featuring childhood friend on vocals, the track honours platonic love and the roots of long-lasting relationships, while integrating contributions from a cadre of close collaborators. On drums is of ’s on keys, and , formerly of pioneering grime crew , overseeing production. The result is a post-genre, bluesy amalgam teasing the depth and evolution of Jianbo’s artistry.
Of the release, Jianbo says: “’Exhale’ is a particularly meaningful track to me, as the guitar melody was taken from my late friend Dominic’s guitar loop pedal. His music equipment was gifted to me by his mother after he passed, and I found his recording saved on it. It only felt right to enlist India Blue, a mutual childhood friend of ours, to sing and pour her heart out onto the track in equal measure. The combination of different musicians came out to turn this track into a unique mish-mash of genres, tied together by sentiment and genuine friendship.”
The accompanying video, once again directed by Alexandre Do, builds on the cinematic world established in ‘Cradle 2 The Sky’. Of the surreal visual world which illustrates the communal joy at the heart of the immigrant journey, Alexandre adds:
“When Jianbo sent me this track, I knew right away it was something special. I wanted to stay true to the emotional core of the track, so I drew from my own family; a photo of my dad and his friends fresh from Cambodia in the ’70s, in flared trousers, laughing and dancing despite everything. So often immigrant stories get reduced to struggle, but there’s joy and dreaming too. This film is about those moments of grief and the longing to see someone you love one more time.”
Tune in below.
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