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Live Review: Tourist ‘Holding On’ Ft. Josef Salvat and Niia

31 March 2015 | 9:30 am | Katie Rowley

This has been a great couple of weeks for William Phillips, aka Tourist. The terribly well-spoken London DJ/producer recently picked up a Grammy for...

This has been a great couple of weeks for William Phillips, aka TOURIST. The terribly well-spoken London DJ/producer recently picked up a Grammy for co-writing Sam Smith’s massive hit ‘Stay With Me’, and has just revealed his own latest work, ‘Holding On’ featuring the delicious vocals of Josef Salvat and Niia.

It’s future bass with a familiar house beat and an intimate indie tone entwined with a sad piano peal. Tourist describes his sound as ‘the melancholy side of dance music’, and this is an exemplar of those addictively sorrowful compositions.

Australian singer songwriter Josef Salvat shares the seductive vocals with Niia, their buttery voices scintillating between one another. The two artists were hand-picked by Tourist for this track, and it works excellently. Duets in dance music aren’t the most commonplace, but this brings another dimension to the track which could have been limited to the traditional solitary perspective. The song isn’t just an individual singing about someone else, but explores the relationship and the story that is told and unfolds between Josef and Niia. It’s sultry, sad and a sonic delight.

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‘Holding On’ precedes Tourist’s debut album, U, which is set for release later in the year. The single in the mean time will be out on May 24th via Polydor.

Words by Katie Rowley

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