Nneka - 'Heartbeat'
Soul songstress Nneka Egbuna received accolades for her 2006 album ‘Victim of Truth’. With her recently released ‘No Longer At Ease’ the Hamburg-based Nigerian looks set to cement her reputation as a vibrantly individual voice.
Fuelled by a thumping bass line, full-bodied organs and short bursts of frenzied drumming, single ‘Heartbeat’ powers along, Nneka dropping simply effective lines like ‘can’t you feel my heart is beating’ with sizzling intensity, ornamented with ungainly but somehow appropriate piano tinklings.
B-side ‘Walk The Line’ more explicitly displays her hip-hop influences, the almost fatalistic chorus ‘walk the line with me love, walk the line with me’ imploringly chanted in husky tones over a threateningly off-kilter groove. This is a strong single from a vital talent.