Quinn Oulton - Lead You To Water
The third single lifted from his forthcoming EP, ‘Lead You To Water’ picks up on the themes of alcohol dependence explored by Quinn previously on 'Lately' - his 2023 collaboration with Col3trane - diving into the struggle of dealing with a friend’s self-destructive habits, and the frustration of trying to help someone who won’t change. The title track from his forthcoming EP, it's an understated alt-RnB bopper, featuring his signature weaving saxophone flutters alongside an intimate vocal performance and acoustic guitar tones that are the centrepiece of his forthcoming EP.
‘Lead You To Water’ marks a new chapter for Quinn, built around the foundations of 90s and 2000s RnB, whilst carving room for his unconventional production techniques and distinctive songwriting voice. Sitting somewhere in between Sampha, Mk.gee and Nick Hakim, a central thread to his approach on the project is simplicity – rather than relying overtly on production elements to embellish the sound of the songs, Quinn instead sought to create spacious pieces that stand on their own, stripping the core of his creativity down to voice and acoustic guitar. He shares:
“For years, I’ve been obsessed with pushing my production skills as far as I can, exploring unique ways to manipulate conventional sounds in ways that I haven’t heard before. Following on from my album and a series of singles from through which I began to truly form my own voice, I aimed to consolidate everything I’d discovered into one project. My goal was to create a truly cohesive, refined EP that features one consistent sound at its core. The songs stand strong on their own in this context, which allowed me to build and around their foundations in any way I wanted, whilst always making sure that each song has space to breathe and shine in their own right.”
Across the project, Quinn takes on a range of immediately relatable subject material, spanning from heartfelt love songs like ‘When You’re Near’ - a soulful reflection upon love’s infectious and mind-clouding qualities - through to ‘Heavy Breathing’, where Quinn strips away superficial worries and uncovers a change of perspective when a loved one receives worrying news about their health. He shares: “I started this song just after my partner received some scary news about her health - our life went from totally normal to suddenly questioning what our future could look like. Thankfully everything turned out okay, but it gave both of us a very different outlook on how we appreciate our lives and make the most of what we have whilst we have it.”
Elsewhere, title track dives back into themes of self-destruction and alcoholism, a subject material taken on by Quinn and Col3tranepreviously on their collaboration ‘Lately’, whilst ‘Just Calm Down’ takes a look at how different people process anger and frustration, encouraging listeners to focus on positive intentions, rather than succumbing to a negative mindset. The four tracks are woven together with Quinn’s signature, off-beat production style and his ear for memorable melodies, making for a captivating listening experience.
He shares: “I’ve always admired artists whose voice alone can fully carry a song. I remember finding a video of Rich online, just him singing at his piano, and his voice totally blew me away. I’ve often found myself trying to make my music denser or more complicated, out of fear that the song won’t stand strong without the distractions – with this project I’ve tried to hone in on this, and having Rich on When You’re Near is such an honour given his impact on this part of my creative process.”
