Swahili Blonde is the L.A-based solo project of “talent magnet” Nicole Turley, who has indeed lived up to that moniker, having worked with the likes of John Frusciante, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Teri Gender Bender, and members of Devo, Duran Duran and many more. The first single off Swahili Blonde’s highly anticipated forthcoming album (due out early 2016) contains influences from all of the above in an exquisite whirlwind of experimental electronic music and classic, golden-era synthpop, leaving us wanting and excited for what’s to come from the full-length. “The Diamond Room” starts out with an ethereal electronic drum line perfectly complemented by Turley’s fluttery, rousing soprano vocals. Unconventionally structured, the song is comprised of two alternating choruses, one which feels sweet and playful like a childhood lullaby and the other darker in melody, and more sinister in conceit, with Turley describing being in a dream in which the protagonists are “not what they seem” – both spooky and compelling, right in time for the Halloween season. Check out the premiere of the track below, and keep your ears open for what we can only surmise will be an amazing album, come 2016.
