Toronto’s soul-R&B enchantress Mackenta soars on new six-track EP, Life On Venus

With stratospheric new single ‘Flying’

“Mackenta embodies both sensitivity and sharp edges.” - CBC

“...coolly eviscerating her targets with terrifying ease.” - Noisey

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Olivia Rayner

Mackenta is a Toronto-based recording artist who combines seamless vocals, clever rap flows, and dreamy melodies in her fine-tuned approach to alternative-R&B and modern soul. She embodies the duality of human nature; equal parts sensitivity and sharp edges. With lyrical intricacies at the core of her songs, her music is an honest array of emotional fluidity, as listeners will hear in the cosmic new EP, LIFE ON VENUS.

For Mackenta, being a woman in the music industry and the world in general provides her with a unique perspective, one that she wants to pull her listeners into. The EP consists of six tracks that will take you on an introspective journey. It opens with ‘IT’S RAINING’ a moody and chilled track built of icy percussion as Mackenta’s brooding voice flip from laid-back R&B melodies to flawless rap verses. The EP’s sophomore track ‘WHAT’S THE POINT?’ is a steamy combination of minimalist beats and sparse strings over which Mackenta doesn’t hold back on the truth, as she questions of her soon-to-be ex, “oh why? Baby, what’s the point of it?” Standing at the half-way point is the empowering ‘VENU$’, a beat-driven track with an old-school R&B flair that celebrates the solidarity and community that women can have together.

The fourth EP track is ‘PLAY’, a moment that combines the desire for independence, “my soft girl era,” with the joy of finding someone you want to vibe with. It’s a bouncing track with a floating production that centres Mackenta’s diverse sound into the present trends. On ‘DELUSIONAL’, the artist shows off her rap skills again with tongue-in-cheek lyrics - it's an instant hype track. With all these good feelings built up, Mackenta leads us into the EP’s closing number, ‘FLYING’, and it’s a stand-out addition to the record. Here, the musician fully embraces her evolution in which she’s unstoppable. As an ethereal concoction of soulful R&B melodies, clever wordplay, slinking bass, and fiery guitars, it’s a relaxed anthem of liberation, self-acceptance and ambition.

On the songwriting process behind the EP’s focus track ‘FLYING’, Mackenta shares:

“I wrote "Flying" about manifestation and following your dreams. I wrote it at a time when I wasn't actually feeling very empowered but I was trying to do a lot of affirmations and self-work to change that. I realized a lot of the songs I usually write are expressing frustration and I rarely wrote when I was feeling positive. A lot of my songs are me venting, but that doesn't cover the full spectrum of emotions I experience. So I tried a different approach of writing about how I want to feel, if it was a perfect day. I started channeling an inner part of what felt like my untapped potential. It's now one of my favourite songs that I've written thus far because it represents me making the decision to stand in my confidence. Since writing it I've experienced a lot of what I wrote about, and more often. I believe our words have a lot of power and I wanted to channel that into a positive direction.”

LIFE ON VENUS track-list:
IT’S RAINING
WHAT’S THE POINT?
VENU$
PLAY
DELUSIONAL
FLYING

A music video for focus track ‘FLYING’ will also be available on 17th November.

About

Formerly known as Mack Davis, the singer-rapper-songwriter hit the music scene in 2016 with her singles ‘Issues’ and ‘No Finesse’, which gained attention from The Source, Noisey, and OVO Sound Radio. Mackenta’s journey is one of special measures as she adds her presence to the list of female talent holding down the Canadian R&B scene. Her EPs, Over the Influence and When the Poison Drained, are conceptual bodies of work which are both sonically meditative and lyrically purposeful. Mackenta vulnerably shares her evolution with the listener. From a "party-filled nocturnal lifestyle” to the path of healing and purpose, she reflects on love, heartbreak, and her experience in the male-dominated Torontonian underground music scene.

For the EP as a whole, Mackenta has an essential message for listeners:

“For "Life on Venus" I wanted to make a project with a range of moods, emotions and experiences, and in particular, the feminine experience. That's where Venus came from; the themes in this project align with the symbolic meanings of the planet and the Goddess. There is so much multidimensionality to being a woman. There are moments of grace, and moments of rage. We can feel luxurious on some days and raw and uncomfortable on other days. We can be strong and vulnerable at the same time. I think there's so much pressure on women to be perfect, but I wanted to write about the real relatable experiences of women. Most of all I just wanted to write songs that make people feel empowered to be themselves, and I did that through expressing my own authentic self. "Life on Venus" captures different sides of me that I haven't showcased before; it's a R&B at its core but you can hear a lot of genres within that as well. I think there's a song for everyone, whether you want to cry or dance. If you listen closely you can hear the story of me putting my broken pieces together, and discovering who I am. This project happened so naturally and was a healing experience for me from start to finish.”

The two of the recently released singles off the EP received some love from Apple Music. ‘PLAY’ and ‘WHAT’S THE POINT?’ were both added to the New Music Daily and Breaking R&B playlists, while ‘PLAY’ also appeared on Northern Vibes, The Wave and New in R&B.

Source Olivia Rayner