Uwade - "Harmattan"

Photo by Shervin Lainez

Nigerian-born, North Carolina-raised musician Uwade has been blowing our minds with her genre crossing musical style, with previous singles dabbling in alt-pop, folk, soul, R&B, indie rock, and country styles. "Harmattan," her latest single, is more of a straight up pop song than we've heard from Harmattan so far. This particular song was crafted while Uwade was listening to a lot of afrobeats and African string instruments, so it carries those sounds as well. All of this combines to make "Harmattan" an absolutely beautiful song. This is pop music that is going to appeal to pop fans and those that normally avoid any music with that label.

Uwade says of her latest single:

"For a long time, this song was a giant puzzle. I couldn’t figure out lyrics, a compelling arrangement, or how to transform it from the earliest stages of the demo to what it is now. Somehow the song’s creative cycle is reflected in the subject matter–lots of questions, few answers, and being forced to find comfort in the chaos. It turned out that every new phase of experimentation unlocked another element of the song that I loved. As Harmattan went from demo to studio to demo to studio, I refined my vision and the song became exactly what I wanted. ‘Will you sway with me when my voice gives out?’ Is one of my favorite lyrics on Florilegium. Writing it helped me to unravel a huge knot of anxiety around being a musician that I’d been dealing with for some time. I don’t think there’s an answer, but I’m ok with that for now."

You can watch the video for "Harmattan" below. Florilegium is due out April 25 on Thirty Tigers. For more on Uwade, check out the artist's website. Upcoming live dates are below the video.

4/24/25 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right

5/03/25 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza

5/10/25 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas

5/15/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge

5/16-18/25 - Big Sur, CA @ Hipnic SOLD OUT

7/5/25 - Quilcene, WA @ Quilcene Lantern

8/28-31/25 - Dorset, UK @ End of the Road Festival