Sly (with Emily Warren) – Cotton Candy (Video)
Enticing alt-pop newcomer Sly joins the Village with his riveting debut single “Cotton Candy,” featuring the talented Emily Warren (multi-billion-stream driving force behind hits for Dua Lipa, Khalid, Sigrid, Rita Ora and Charli XCX) on vocals.
Sly, aka Sylvester Sivertsen, has racked up esteemed credits over the past few years, having collaborated and produced for notable artists including The Chainsmokers, Liam Payne, Cheat Codes, the Jonas Brothers and many more. Now he returns to the forefront of emerging artists as a songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist with his debut release.
Having grown up to parents involved in the arts, music runs deep in Sly’s bloodline. His father is renowned producer and drummer Jan Sivertsen and his mother, perhaps his greatest inspiration, is the legendary Danish singer and songwriter Lis Sørensen. The Copenhagen-based artist grew up watching his parents work with analogue equipment which led him to begin teaching himself how to produce in Logic, drawing inspiration from Daft Punk and Justice but continuing to experiment with his personal sound.
By his late teens Sly had perfected his skill for mixing live instrumentation and synthesized beats, landing him an early cut with Liam Payne. His success soon spiraled into bigger cuts like “Side Effects” which went on to hit hundreds of millions of streams for The Chainsmokers. “When I started making the music I wanted to hear, I hit a vein,” he says. In turn, inspired by his work with major artists and noticing that he was building a catalogue of idiosyncratic, compelling and human pop, Sly really did start making music for himself.
2020 is here and Sly has begun to emerge as a dynamic artist in his own right. In his scintillating debut release “Cotton Candy,” Sly shares his own music with the world: combining state-of-the-art pop production, emotion, and humanity.
“Human emotion is what music is about,” proclaims Sly. “I’m very particular about whether music makes me feel something – in its lyric, its melody, its sound, or all three at once,” he explains.
New single “Cotton Candy” hits the mark. Sly captures a dark, moody, and sexy energy in this new track and Warren’s luxurious vocals were just what the song needed. He explains that the single is about not giving up on love. “Emily was going through a breakup and we were talking about how difficult love can be, and how to know when you should let go or keep fighting.
‘Cotton Candy’ is a song about not being ready to give up and Emily got back with her boyfriend the next day.”
Sly effortlessly blends pop-forward production with a passion for analogue synths and real drums and guitars, making for a sonic palate that feels both fresh and familiar. Sly seamlessly introduces new elements to the pop lane and “Cotton Candy” is his first official offering.
Reviewed by Nagamag on August 21, 2020