Aria Wells, aka Greentea Peng, has released the first new music of the year, Ghost Town, after a hugely successful 2019. It’s a deeply personal track, and her first overtly political song, about which she says “GHOST TOWN is inspired by a Dub Judah dubplate I heard at an Iration Steppas gig. Call it gentrification, call it social cleansing, either way you are making it clear that your vision for this city does not include us. This song is not just for London. This song is for all of us, all of our cities, all of our towns and all of us people who bring these places to life. It’s about our fundamental right to thrive in the communities we were born into and grew up in. It’s about the loss of soul in these soon to be ghost towns.”
Ghost Town has this dub reggae swagger to it, with Aria’s warm, velvety vocal sitting over the top of things, as it flowers into this jazz-dub hybrid, with vocal harmonies, brass and saxophone all playing their part in making it something to sit back, breath deep, and luxuriate in.
Check out the beautifully shot accompanying video directed by The Mill’s Melody Maker and set on The Aylesbury Estate which is currently being demolished as part of a longstanding and sustained housing crisis.
