I’ve been playing the Maya Jane Coles record on repeat for quite a few weeks now. It’s a slow-burning, intelligent mix of electronic pop and deeper, more subliminal house, but the really exciting part is how diverse it is. From the lead single, featuring Karin Park, which sounds like what everybody really wanted from the last outing from The Knife, through to the more minimal tracks which Coles brings in the likes of Tricky, it’s a fascinating listen. But perhaps the most interesting turn occurs at the back end of the record, with this entirely unexpected collaboration. It’s emotionally arresting, soulful and completely addictive, and I can’t really stop listening to it. Maya Jane Coles was delivered to One A Day by hand by her publicist here who believes so strongly in her debut album’s potential that he put it in an envelope with stamps and everything to make sure we’d listen to it when it’s already perfectly accessible online. He was probably right to do it and the trick’s worked. But it certainly helps that there’s so much talent in one place.
The Maya Jane Coles narrative, at least from what I’ve seen, is not unlike like the Kanye West one for hip-hop. Underground queen spends years writing and producing tracks for other people, only to finally accept that she’s more than able to do it for herself as well, at which point she crosses over to the rest of us (read: me) who sit there scratching our heads saying ‘Who now?’ Needless to say, she’s released more EPs than I’ve had hot dinners – not to mention a number of rapturously received Essential Mixes for BBC1 – but Comfort is her first real statement of intent in a traditional manner and it’s certainly being heard. ‘When I’m In Love’ makes sense in the context of what Coles is about, but it also totally doesn’t. It’s a pop song rewired from the inside out, building off an original sketch from Thomas Knights, the man you hear singing. As such, we get a minor twist on a song that probably was major to start with, full of echoing snare clicks, subzero bass and enough atmosphere to let someone survive in space. It’s a bit like The xx if their lead singer was from Hercules and Love Affair. Knights, who is probably the most successful slashie in London, is a photographer, film-maker, producer and musician, not to mention being really, really, good looking. But you can’t tell any of that from hearing him go at this melody; he sounds like one of the loneliest men in the club at 3am.
The major drawcard here is the descending chromatic line that opens the chorus, which also encapsulates the title of the song. Coles sets up this moment perfectly, shutting out all the distractions and letting the beat purr on repeat until Knights swans in with a full-voiced, golden run that just opens the whole thing up. It pretty much becomes the only thing you hear in the whole section; buffered by drums on the one side and its own reverb on the other. After you’ve heard it once, it makes the entire process of the song just one long journey back to that point, but unlike regular pop, Coles is working her magic across all the parts so its an intriguing ride the whole time. Not often is there a moment on a headphone record that also cries out for a big set of speaker, but here at track ten, Maya Jane Coles and her multi-talented mate may have just achieved it.
Maya Jane Coles ft. Thomas Knights – ‘When I’m In Love’
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