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Music

Ryan Hemsworth's New Video Is a Surprisingly Sunny Afrobeats Ballad

Ryan Hemsworth and London’s NewAgeMuzik new video for “Four Seasons” is the only way to stay warm this winter.
KC
Queens, US

Ryan Hemsworth has been crafting beats that bleed through genres since his debut full-length album Guilt Trips in 2013. The Toronto producer has tried out sounds influenced by video games, pop punk and K-Pop, a range that keeps his overall sound from being easily defined. He’s said that his production career started lifting drum patterns from Wu Tang songs, so he’s often had beats that skewed more hip-hop, racking up collaborations with Bay Area rappers like Main Attrakionz and Shady Blaze.

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His longtime fascination with unpredictable drum programming is reflected in his forthcoming full-length, Elsewhere, coming soon on his label Secret Songs. For the debut single, “Four Seasons,” released back in January, he tapped London’s NewAgeMuzik, who use their knowledge of Afrobeats to craft sunny ballad around jittery hopscotching of his drums. It’s both anxious and uplifting, highlighting Hemsworth’s knack for pulling complex emotions out of familiar forms.

Directed by Sammy Shoots, the video for “Four Seasons” is NewAgeMuzik’s Kamo and Prince’s ode to a love that transcends climates. Hemsworth is spotted briefly in the “One For Me” video that plays on the television. Decked in puffer jackets and cuddled by fireplaces, “Four Seasons” feels like a heatwave in the midst of a chilly winter. “There are many artists who are doing their thing, so we’ve just got to keep on going, focusing on our sound—the UK sound as well as the African sound,” said Prince in an interview with Fact Mag. “We feel the fusion of both can relate to almost everyone—we want to go global.” “Four Seasons” brings two worlds together and makes summer feel like it’s around the corner.

Hemsworth begins his Elsewhere tour on March 24.

March 24 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ Catch Festival
March 27 - London, UK @ Miranda Ace Hotel
March 30 - Barcelona, Spain @ Razzmatazz
April 27 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall
April 28 - Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
May 3 - San Diego, CA @ Bang Bang
May 4 - San Francisco, CA @ 1015 Folsom
May 5 - Los Angeles, CA @ Union
May 10 - Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
May 11 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
May 12 - Denver, CO @ Cervantes Other Side
May 18 - Chicago, IL @ East Room