Teddy Swims has today released his exclusive new single, ‘Funeral’, from Bose and NME’s star-studded C24 mixtape – stream the track on all major platforms now and watch the full performance video above.
‘Funeral’ follows on from Swims’ global chart-topper ‘Lose Control’ – and is the first release the singer-songwriter has dropped since a deluxe edition of his fantastic, tender debut album ‘I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1)’ earlier this year.
The soulful tune was written this year during the chaos of Grammys week, with Swims heading to the studio to seek solace. “‘Funeral’ is fun, upbeat and it’ll make people want to dance, but there’s a layer of sadness underneath that,” he explained. “I love being able to make music that has joy but is heartbreaking at the same time.”
Swims’ music mixes funk, soul, R&B, pop and Motown into a unique, special blend. He first made a name for himself with emotionally-driven YouTube covers. “We’re finally at the point where we’re honing a certain sound,” he said. “It’s all about this old soul, Motown feel but modernising that in a way that feels authentic. Songs like ‘Funeral’ just feel right.”
‘Funeral’ will feature as part of the latest in the iconic C-Series of mixtapes, with the ‘Bose x NME: C24’ release also including tracks from essential new artists Laufey, Artemas, Royel Otis, Lola Young, Samara Cyn and Tehya, who was hand-picked by the judges of C24’s new artist competition in association with social music creation platform BandLab.
The full mixtape will hit streaming platforms on July 19, and can be pre-saved here. The digital release will be followed by a limited-edition physical release of cassette and vinyl.
To celebrate the release, Teddy Swims has also taken part in a bespoke new NME video franchise, On Tape. The intimate clip sees Swims exploring London’s Denmark Street, a mecca for music nerds, before getting a new tattoo. Speaking about his own music, Swims explained that he is inspired by “relationships, love, heartache and life itself” before revealing his dream collaborations.
The video ends with a beautiful live rendition of ‘Funeral’ that’s both triumphant and moving. Head to the top of this article to watch it in full. Visit nme.com/c24 for more info on all things C24.
[Editor’s note: NME and BandLab are both a part of Caldecott Music Group]