Written By Kelly Holm
It’s that time of year when many of us find ourselves pining for sunnier skies and happier times. While hopping a plane for a tropical getaway might be a reach right now, listening to HARMAN’s “Waiting For You” will put you in a mood where you just can’t help but relax. Though lyrically it deals with uncertainty in relationships, melodically it provides resolution.
“Counting days on this calendar, my pen running out of ink/Marking days since we fell apart, without you it’s unsettling,” this Toronto-based up-and-comer croons on the track, which dropped November 12th. “Just let me know, should I hold on or should I let it go?”
Complimented by music-video legend Director X, recognized by Jessie Reyez and inspired by Bon Iver, HARMAN’s ascendance through the echelons of the R&B world has been a long time in the making.
“Music has always been a big part of my life from the start,” he says. “[My rise] happened pretty organically. Sunny Diamonds, an engineer from Toronto, mentored me and just guided me through a lot of things… the first performance I ever did was for a clothing brand release.”
At 23, HARMAN began to write his own music, finding solace during a difficult time from spinning lyrics and melodies. His first song “Drowning,” and other early tracks, can still be found on SoundCloud.
“I remember at that time music and writing was my only real escape from life. The songs were basically written to describe how I was feeling with the burdens and stresses life had put on me at that time,” he explained. “Some of the lowest points in my life brought some of the greatest things into my life, like music.”
Now, he’s bubbling over with enthusiasm about “Waiting For You,” which he says was in the vault for nearly a year before its recent release.
“Now just felt like the right time to share it,” HARMAN said. “[I] wrote most of this song in the studio… it was done in about two sessions, but over a year many changes were made to the production of the beat and some vocals on my end. Feel like it’s been refined to what I want it to be now.”
We can only hope that the charts will agree. HARMAN says “Waiting For You” was deliberately designed to be a radio-ready single, with a video to match those vibes.
“The feel of the song just felt right in [Los Angeles],” he said of the filming locale. “A lot went into the storyboard of the video to depict a story to match the song.”
Another recent track HARMAN recommends you check out is the predecessor to “Waiting For You,” “Fed Up.” He comments, “The song is higher energy than my usual.”
No matter what, though, he promises that his music will always be authentic.
“[It’s] a very raw and unfiltered version of my experiences,” he says, and urges other artists following in his path to “stay true” and “stay consistent.”
After COVID is defeated, HARMAN hopes to add plenty of live shows to his calendar— maybe even at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto— but in the meantime, he’ll be rolling out a merchandise line and continuing to drop a new single every month.
“The ups and downs of life will always be shown in [my] music,” he says. “Hopefully it brings people closer and helps them relate to their own experiences.”
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