Over the last six months, newcomer AUGUST has slowly been unfurling the many strings to his bow. First came the gorgeous ‘S W O R D’, which was followed by the dancey, synth-laden ‘G H O S T S’. Now AUGUST, real name Steve Hughes, has just dropped his new minimal ballad ‘C H E M I C A L’. Backed by a distant wash of distorted electronics and the simplest of guitar melodies, Hughes’ piercing falsetto shines at the forefront of ‘C H E M I C A L’, which takes its inspiration from the original definition of ‘passion’, meaning ‘wiling to suffer’. Explaining this further, Hughes says: “To truly love is to walk through both joy and suffering, this song is about trying to handle both of these opposing forces.” -HM