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HealeyBadger – After Hours
Piano, Bass, and the Evening Drawing In
HealeyBadger’s “After Hours” settles into the moment when evening closes around two people who want to be together. The Manchester duo of Di and Rich build that intimacy from vocals and piano, drawing on R&B and groove while keeping the atmosphere close to a piano lounge.
Home-recorded and mixed, the song also features bass from Don Whiteford, adding another instrumental presence to the duo’s established partnership. Di and Rich first worked together writing music for a musical, a collaboration that developed into years of performing and recording, spanning roughly seven years by their account at the time. Their description of the song is deliberately simple: being with the person you love as the night draws in. That everyday setting gives “After Hours” its focus, with the arrangement making space for closeness.
50mething – Obsession
Music Within Reach
Music is both the subject and the refuge on 50mething’s “Obsession”. The Ealing artist describes the song as an expression of needing music within reach: earbuds ready for whatever the day brings. Working alone in a home studio and handling the production independently, 50mething builds an arrangement around a bass line that guitar picks up in the chorus. Harmonised vocals add another layer, while a brass section carries the closing passage. Prince is a musical touchstone for the independent artist, whose background also includes dance and garden building. Here, the everyday habit of keeping a pair of earbuds close becomes a way to frame music’s place in ordinary life: something to turn to for comfort, reflection or an emotional outlet, and something worth making space for.
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