Having already cemented himself with a breadth of dazzling delights these last few years, Dublin-based artist Presh is back to his best once again with his shimmering new single 'This Feeling'.
Bringing back more of that soul-infused, afrobeat-inspired aesthetic he has been garnering lately, 'This Feeling' makes for a wonderfully absorbing listen throughout. With its smooth and breezy textures perfectly elevating his heartfelt vocals from start to finish, he is certainly looking to sweep us off our feet with this one.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with him to find out more about his origins and what has been inspiring him most lately.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
Drums — but I couldn’t learn it as much as I wanted ‘cause I didn’t get the chance to practice. Electric drums weren’t really popular then, and my parents weren’t gonna be having me blowing up their ears with noise in the house. Lol.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
It was mostly gospel music. Then a bit of country music, African music, and rap and RnB.
What was the first album you remember owning?
It was Welcome Home by Ron Kenoly. I had just started learning the keyboard, and at the time, if you could play through one of those gospel albums, you were considered legit in church circles! I used to rinse that album over and over again.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
Oceans by Hillsong. The imagery in the songwriting and then the melody too — it’s crazy good. And it’s really inspirational as well.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
Yeah, I pray for a bit. Then I do a brain dump of everything that’s in my head. I’ll get a keyboard or find an instrumental to help with the chords, and I just start from there.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Jacob Collier. Other musicians say my performances give them the stank face — but I think Jacob Collier is the GOAT when it comes to that. He’s phenomenal. Elton John too — I wasn’t born during his heyday, but I’ve gotten to really like him in recent times. And there’s this lady called Nathalie Layne — I think her music is incredible and she is such an amazing person too.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Stevie Wonder.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
Getting to meet new people all the time and hearing them talk about how my music made them feel seen. One day, I performed my new song This Feeling on the street and someone listened and started crying. She told me she’d recently lost her friend and had just been at home doom scrolling on social media ever since. She said the song made her feel seen. Stuff like that is so rewarding and really makes me wanna keep doing this.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Probably the fact that with social media and everything, you have to be more than just a music artist — you also have to be a content creator and an algorithm analyst. Sometimes I’m like, “I just wanna make musiiic!” But to be fair, there are so many advantages to it. It means anyone from anywhere in the world can put their music out and reach their audience without waiting for some gatekeeper to say yes.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
I’d probably say: don’t try to be anyone else — just be yourself. Nobody can beat you at that. I’m lucky to have one of the best voice trainers in the world, Jazzsari and she said that to me when I was tryna sound like everyone else except myself — ‘cause I felt like my natural voice wasn’t good enough. I took her advice and everything started getting better from then.
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Presh's new single 'This Feeling' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.