Hot Track: Newah – Let It Burn ft. Amber Prothero

Out of nowhere, Newah’s ‘Let It Burn’ came in to my life, a jaunty piano-bar song with jazzy intentions, and thank god it did.

While the national mood isn’t exactly popping champagne corks, thankfully music has a way of seeing the bright side. ‘Let It Burn’ is a song that in a parallel universe, was mid-album on Gaga’s Joanne. Three airtight minutes of jazzy chords, blue-sky melodies and pure upward momentum.

The featherweight chorus that flutters from verse-to-verse like confetti caught in updraughts, effectively seals the deal. To say Amber Prothero turns in a powerhouse vocal take is actually faint praise: it’s truly a brilliant performance. Her vocal aerobics are breathtaking and perfectly accent the soulful colour of the track.

It comes as a surprise, given the sheer positivity coming off ‘Let It Burn’ that this was a lockdown track. But so it was: the collab came from Newah & Amber having a chance encounter in Paris last year and discovering a shared love of music. Covid nixed any chance of an orthodox writing session, so ‘Let It Burn’ was written via Zoom.

We’re headed into Tier 3 in Yorkshire as of Monday, but as long as I’m allowed to keep ‘Let It Burn’ on repeat, I don’t mind so much.