Following on from his impressive debut single ‘Give What You Take’, Dan D’Lion returns with his second release ‘Treading Water’. It’s a much more soulful number, reminiscent of Swedish artist Elias, sharing that same pertinent intensity and outward-looking world view. The artist has shared the inspirations behind the music formed in his Hoxton studio, namely Jamiroquai, Tame Impala and N.E.R.D, which you can certainly hear in ‘Treading Water’. Dan D’Lion sings with an emotional wisdom, with the central lyric - “I can feel them trying to pull me under / No sleep – I’m tired of treading water” - being profoundly poetic and relatable, especially for young people trying to find their feet in the shifting sand of today’s world. This is the kind of pop we should be pushing to the forefront – it’s intuitive, complex, and far from the copycat aesthetic we’re seeing all too often right now. - Hannah Thacker