Check out the latest single from Ashton Nyte, a South African-born multi-instrumentalist now based in the USA. ‘Cinnamon’ is taken from the forthcoming album ‘Autumn’s Children’, his eighth solo record, which will arrive in August 2023. Having also put out eleven albums with South African alternative rock favourites The Awakening, Nyte is a hugely experienced and well-regarded songwriter, who infuses just the right amount of beautiful melancholy into his songs. He’s also an inventive writer and he will be releasing a book of poetry, short stories, and personal reflections to accompany ‘Autumn’s Children’, just as he did for his last album ‘Waiting For a Voice’. You can pre-order both the album and book here.
‘Cinnamon’ begins with warmly engaging guitar before Nyte’s low vocal is introduced, aching with vulnerability and sorrow. His voice is incredibly intimate, almost spoken at times in a deeply-melodic conversation. In the moody video, we see Nyte looking directly into the camera, right into our eyes, as he exposes his heart, seemingly stuck in a moment: “It’s true, it feels just like the day before and the day before that too,” as a ballerina, a drink and a record turn in circles, endlessly spinning. It’s affecting work – both the artistically-shot video and the stark music Nyte delivers. Nyte says of the song: “Cinnamon is an ode to hope in the face of adversity. In this instance, clinging to the promise of something that once was while navigating various shades of depression and self-doubt. I think it’s a song about coping. About doing what we need to do, to get through.”
With over 300 original songs in Ashton Nyte’s back catalogue, there’s plenty more to explore – start here and absorb the stark, intimate beauty of ‘Cinnamon’.
Beautifully haunting ❤️