Wafia, Masego, and Ta-ku Make For a Dream Team on "Wide Open"
Photo: Drew Escriva
Across the sands of time, musical trios have dominated the cultural landscape with their complex group chemistry and artistic prowess. From Migos and Destiny's Child, to Nirvana and Bee Gees, the grasp that the three-person dynamic has had on us as music fans is just as powerful as it is understated, but this week the dynamic has been reinvented.
With the release of their new single "Wide Open", the paradigm has shifted with a fated collaboration between Wafia, Ta-ku, and Masego. Synthesizing ethereal pop vocals with a jazz-flavored R&B mix, together the three artists deliver a chill summer banger that is sure to stay in heavy rotation as things heat up.
If you're not hip to Wafia, Ta-ku, or Masego, don't fret or frown. I understand that obsessing over Masego's back catalog, or spending your high-school days listening to Songs To Break Up To are not necessarily universal experiences. Luckily for us, "Wide Open" is the perfect time to be introduced to these three musical prodigies, with the collaborative trio delivering much-needed summer vibes as we re-emerge from our respective quarantines.
Perhaps at the forefront of "Wide Open" is Australian singer-songwriter Wafia's ethereal and hypnotic vocals. Her powerful performance balances a delicate upper register with a voice that carries a unique and mesmerizing loftiness. She's joined by Ta-ku, producer extraordinaire, whose talents manifest within both his vocals and the distinct low-fidelity R&B sound embedded within the mix. Together their vocals meet in harmonious union with Masego's, whose jazzy and energetic performance creates something just as full of swagger as it is unique.
"Wide Open" is a romantic banger whose dreamy and low-end-laden mix serves as the perfect foundation for Wafia, Ta-ku, and Masego to reinvent not only the three-piece dynamic, but music in its entirety. Maybe that's hyperbole, but to say this song is anything other than meticulously-crafted and perfectly-polished would be a severe understatement.
Listen to "Wide Open" below:
