Quickly forging an exciting new presence on the UK DnB scene, South London producer/songwriter Gabriella Bongo infuses her unique, boundary-pushing arrangements with a sense of vivid nostalgia. Turning heads at Apple, the BBC and Reprezent Radio, as well as connecting with some of the industry best in Nile Rodgers, Fraser T Smith and Fred again.., have all set her on a path to success. Already backed by performances at Mahalia’s International Women’s Day event and orchestral performances at the Royal Albert Hall, her latest achievements include a mixing feature on Radio 1 and becoming a Hospital Records official women in drum and bass mentee.
Hot on the heels of a Liam Bailey collaboration, Gabriella now unveils her next single venture, ‘Someone Else’, filling the track with mystifying emotions alongside the fast-paced, high-energy drum and bass arrangements. A song of catharsis, its themes are found in pining for a lost love, a self-reflection induced by jealous resentment.
Setting the scene for an atmospheric haze to fall on the music, the opening moments see rich piano chords and momentous, deep percussion take the reigns behind the mournful vocal from Alexander Mills. Almost out of nowhere, the non-stop drum breaks and charging bass lines take the wheel, combining their power with a dynamic synth counter melody that sits between the tones strings and brass. This ebb and flow continues, culminating is a vast orchestral section supercharging the final chorus into a transcendent state.
Gabriella explains, “I wrote the song when I was 16 and was still writing alone in my bedroom at this point. I knew that I wanted it to be a super dramatic and epic song but still also be drum and bass. I then began the tedious task of finding a vocalist – someone good enough and also willing to take their chance on me. One of my favourite ways to do this is to go on YouTube and find vocalists who were doing covers of artists I had in mind for the song. I then came across Alexander Mills and honestly really was taken aback by the amount of emotion he was able to portray in his singing. I hit him up on Instagram and he was quite receptive and so I sent him the demo and when I heard it back I was so pleased with how it came out. I don’t think there could’ve been anyone better suited. It didn’t matter that he was based in Australia and I was in the UK – we fostered a great working relationship and I am so grateful he believed in me.”
‘Someone Else’ is out now, check it out below!
