Back in January, Toronto crooner Daniel Caesar popped up on our radar with his three-track EP Birds of Paradise. His stripped down cover of James Blake's "The Wilhelm Scream" still remains a favorite rendition and was a solid testament to his vocal talent, so it's safe to say we were looking forward to seeing what his next project would have in store. What he's managed to create with his first full-length offering Praise Break is a stellar indication as to why the young upstart is the next breakthrough act to keep your eyes (and ears) on.
In an interview with Billboard, the 19-year-old elaborated on the unrequited love that inspired the lead single off Praise Break. 'Violet' is really for this girl I was hanging around with at the time. She told me once that she wrote a song when she was little, called 'Violet in the Sun'… So I made 'Violet'. I wanted her so bad but I never really had her. In the video, if you pick up on it, [she] was really just a figment of my imagination. She represents everything that I desire, and everything that I'm striving for. Before I moved to the city I spent every Saturday sitting in church wishing I could be living on my own, doing what I wanted. I think this video portrays that."
The video for "Violet" was directed by Liam MacRae (PARTYNEXTDOOR's "Break From Toronto", "Recognize") and also stars Ellis Nakata.
Simply put, Daniel Caesar's making the type of music that is utterly relatable with the help of producers Jordan Evans and Matthew Burnett. Listening to Praise Break takes you back to that feeling of falling in and out of love for the first time, longing for someone or something and feeling that uncertainty of whether you'll ever have it. It's a gorgeous body of work, complete with a cover of James Vincent McMorrow's "Chevalier". Listen below and download via Soundcloud.
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