Clever and inventive, Asha Gold offers ‘Up To Me’, a fun take on adulthood and its disadvantages. With a flawless production, this track stands at the top of our favourites this month despite still having more than half of it ahead of us. 

The masterfully crafted arrangements are impressive in their ability to transport the listener to different head spaces with each section. The track’s central thread consists of a bouncy and whimsy motif that harmoniously plays with Asha’s vocals. The seamless transition into the chorus sees the listener visualize the idea of wanting to keep someone trapped inside so that you can have 100% of their time. Asha then sets us free in the bridge and allows us to roam around to explore and savour our childish desires. 

While still maintaining an incredible constancy in her repertoire, Asha steps even further with this track into an extremely appealing artistic identity. Gold is flourishing into a vivacious and radiant pop queen, offering the perfect balance of smoothness, textures, pathos and coolness. 

“I had a lot of fun writing ‘Up To Me’ – the quicker tempo pushed me to be inventive with melody and challenged me to tell a story without crowding the space with too many words. The lyrics encapsulate a sort of playful nostalgia: it’s about growing up and entering the real world, and therefore losing the freedom to carelessly spend hours upon hours with my favourite people. I play on the idea of wanting to keep someone trapped inside so that I can have 100% of their time. Louis hints at this needy, childlike behaviour in the production – the beat is incessant whilst the instruments and samples are super playful.”

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