Built around Jade Keywood’s glossy R&B-leaning hook, Black Magic, is a paean to the irresistible draw of a no-good lover, punctuated by fizzing synth motifs, rubbery percussion and sleek bass oscillations.

You might have seen recent publicity for a bit of research by McMaster University’s Digital Music Lab that put indie fans at the top of the tree when it comes to open-mindedness towards other genres. Pop fans, it was also observed, were the least curious. There are two important things to note about this research.

Firstly, if we take pop as a de facto default setting for music listening habits - ie assume that most people start out listening to pop music - we shouldn’t be at all surprised to find pop fans at the bottom of the pile. Not many people gravitate towards pop after a lifetime of experimentation, desperately searching for their holy grail. (“Eureka! The weekly top 40 countdown is exactly what I’ve been looking for!”). Equally, some people like a bit of pop but aren’t actually all that into music in general. Calling them closed-minded seems a bit mean, frankly.

Secondly, it’s a good result as far as keeping the peace goes. Indie fans are happy to be told they’re great and it’s important to them that they have managed to beat off the competition. Once again they have been proved right, something which probably matters to them more than pop fans. Those pop fans meanwhile probably won’t even read the research summary because a) who cares? and b) hey, have you heard this great new single by Keyes?

Released earlier this week (24th August), Black Magic is the first single proper from 18 year-old Warwickshire singer-songwriter, Keyes, following the success of Veins, earlier in the year. While you’re here, why not listen to that one, too?

Greatness beckons.

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