Before the curtain rises, there is already a contract in place. The room has paid for magic, the performer has learned how to make exhaustion look like sparkle, and every seat carries its own appetite. The front row is the most dangerous place in that exchange because it mistakes closeness for knowledge. It sees the shine on the costume, the mouth forming a smile, the...

Manchester neo-soul and hip hop artist SYLL dismantles our collective addiction to yesterday on his latest single, "Used to be". Nostalgia is a brilliant liar. We drape our memories in a protective, sentimental hue, stubbornly convinced that life was infinitely better before. SYLL, harnessing the golden-era DNA of influences like D'Angelo and Common, confronts this rosy retrospective head-on. https://open.spotify.com/album/5U1VXaRgCnXYf4x3ilmDkS?si=fMAAVeH_SZGmPYEfR1PwAQ The release offers two distinct sonic mirrors....