What would you give up for success? Your life, your soul, your future happiness, your sanity? What price would be too high? This Faustian bargain is played out with stunning clarity in ‘Wide Open’, the latest single from Mancunian trio Digging For Kanky (Ben Powell, Adam Smith and Kat Brown). Following on from the haunting melancholy of ‘Send Me Away’, this outfit somehow manages to wade into even darker trip-hop territory with this latest release.
From the very start, DFK establishes a heavy atmosphere with those Verve-esque strings, echoed reggae sample and intricate trip-hop beats. It’s a slow-burning and psychologically charged affair that’s designed to take listeners into the deepest, most tortured corners of the human mind. The first verse, led by a locally accented rap, spells out the sense of desperation and loss of hope that many can feel on the bottom rung of society. One such line that strikes a powerful chord is: “’cause I feel like I’ve been running out of luck, and it ain’t easy to believe it where you’re stood, but I’m feeling like I should, even though my feet are in the mud.”
From this mellow spoken-word section, the track peaks at the soulful chorus that exposes more of an emotionally vulnerable side to this narrative. Brown serenely sings, “every time you let me down, tI I feel no need to give you up,” which makes us think of toxic habits, unhealthy relationships and addictions. It’s about those lies that we tell ourselves and how letting them go would require dealing with the true self that’s long been hidden away.
‘Wide Open’ is brought even further to life by a Viltė Vitkauskaitė-directed music video, which uses religious imagery, not as a literal aspect, but to metaphorically draw out the deeper meaning. Here the woodland siren isn’t actually the devil trying to steal your soul, but it represents opportunity, with its adjoined temptations of status, advancement and recognition.
As an independent project, Digging For Kanky make it known that they’re not chasing success with their music, rather they’re here to make a real, long-lasting impact.
You can also find ‘Wide Open’ in our Hip, Hop & More playlist.
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