Pia Dean is a new UK indie songwriter who loves creating partnerships between words and music. Pia likes to give each track its own identity, which reflect influences that cross various genres and include but are not limited to Amy Winehouse, James Morrison, U2, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, KOL, Beyonce, Jason Mraz, Adele & Pink. Pia works with guest lead vocalists, which also adds a different flavor to each track, all of which were written between 2010 and the present. Pia’s latest self-release is ‘Clarity (is what I need)’ featuring Nikki Dine-Hart on vocals.
One thing is certain Pia Dean has to be about the most underrated pop songwriter out there, bar none. If you’re sick of the formula played on pop or alternative radio or think that most pop music doesn’t embrace that elusive feminine spirit perfectly, give Pia Dean a try. The new single – ‘Clarity (is what I need)’ – may be about as accessible and catchy as any of her previous work. Namely “Achilles Heal” and “Another Maybe”.
She’s a challenging writer. Her songs veer from oblique studio delicacies with beautifully whispered vocals, to upfront soul-baring and confrontational impacted material. Being no stranger to confessional song writing, on ‘Clarity (is what I need)’ she let’s her heart out, and is more than ably aided by the soulful delivery of Nikki Dine-Hart, who perfectly understands how to translate Pia’s songs into little pieces of sonic art.
I think the reason listeners will find this single even more accessible than Pia’s others is simply because it sounds so much more mature and sophisticated. The production is also tastefully elegant, giving Pia’s song room to breathe, bringing out the space, texture and depth of sound in her songs, and the overall mood is more luxurious and resonant as a result.
The piano driven atmosphere is rich, vivid and well captured on ‘Clarity (is what I need)’. While Nikki Dine-Hart projects a sultry seductive image and deeply caring attitude which elaborates into theatrical glamour for the single’s video, and will certainly make people sit up and take notice.
Ultimately though, what makes ‘Clarity (is what I need)’ such a master-work is its raw power and simmering passion, the brooding emotional intensity, the pure heart and soul that pours out nakedly from every note of the track.
Nikki Dine-Hart sings the song like her life depended on it, managing to convey the staggering extremes of emotion in the music that Pia Dean so intensely composes, track after track, without ever faltering in her intentions, to move the listener with her music.
‘Clarity (is what I need)’ represents an exceptional achievement by one of the few independent creative artists working in mainstream popular music in an otherwise bland and banal period of time. Grab this one quickly!
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