Cikho shares new single ‘3AM’
Exciting new artist Cikho has released his new single ‘3am’ via 0207 Def Jam.
On ‘3am’, Cikho returns to the dreamy, romantic world he’s already building a reputation on, pairing soft synths with an easy, slow-jam groove. “It’s almost 3am and I am thinking of you / Guess I tried my best but it didn’t come through,” he sings, capturing the late-night longing for someone you can’t quite let go of. Tender and instantly catchy, the track wraps romantic heartache in a warm, nostalgic glow. .
Working with producer Luis Knowles, Cikho’s recent singles ‘Crush On You’, ‘Blue’ and ‘3am’ inhabit a vivid, fully-realised sonic world. With the guitar front and centre playing melodies interwoven with deftly executed vocal harmonies, delivering starkly direct lyrics, these are songs from an artist levelling up in real time.
Cikho comments: “3am’ is really exciting for me because I feel like it’s a bit of a new direction with my sound. A lot of my songs have been quite upbeat and fast-paced, but this one’s a little slower, darker and more vulnerable. I love associating my songs with colours, and to me, ‘3am’ is dark purple. It reminds me of being up late at night, just stuck in your own thoughts. The song is basically about being so caught up on someone who means everything to you, but slowly realising they don’t feel the same way. You’re up all night thinking about them, but to them, you’re just a 3am call.”
Cikho is a painter of sounds. The south-east London artist’s music is drenched in a bright palette of colour: plush, airy brushes of guitar, funky flecks of bass and fluid, melodious vocals, soulfully exploring crushes, mistakes and overwhelm. His songs place him somewhere in the school of boundless creatives like Steve Lacy, Pharrell and Thundercat, while increasingly carving out a world that is distinctly his own.
Cikho’s music has been making waves since his quiet emergence as a teenager in 2022, when he first started uploading his songs online, to now with millions of streams across TikTok and Spotify and support from tastemakers including Don Chenz, Triple J, and BBC Radio 1’s Future Artists. Currently 20 years old, Cikho – real name Timi Akogba – has just signed to 0207 Def Jam, ready and waiting to take the next step.
Born and raised in Surrey Quays, Cikho says he’s looking to put his part of London on the map. “Most people don’t know about Surrey Quays, it’s very low-key, but that’s what I love about it – everyone’s just really nice, it’s a really nice area,” he explains. “But no one was doing what I liked in terms of music, I didn’t have that person to look up to from this area that gave me hope. And so when I started to make music, I wanted to become that person.”
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