BEST NEW TRACK: ALT-J - 3WW (FEAT. LITTLE SIMZ) (OTG VERSION)

Last month British indie rockers and an IT Guy’s idea of cool guys alt-j announced a remix album to their 2017 masterclass Relaxer. The aptly named Reduxer is due out at the end of September and to tide us over until then the trio released the opening track “3WW” (short for three worn words) featuring a remix by OTG and English rapper/actress Little Simz.

Replacing the reverb heavy atmosphere of the original, OTG strips everything away to focus on Simz verses. Despite the calm, self-assured delivery, there’s an urgency to her bars. There’s number play throughout the track, she starts by ficating on the spiritually significant seven. Simz, real name Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, laments the uniformity of the masses and the harrowing gap between lip services paid to doing what is right versus actually doing something to make a difference in the world, saying,

“Everything is everything, everyone is too alike
Way too similar, need individuality to strike
Too much chat, not enough, doin' whatever is right
Am I right or am I right?”

Instead of coming off as preachy, her lines sound like hard-won truths that come at the end of a mental, physical, and spiritual struggle.

But she’s not letting the burden of truth overwhelm her, instead Little Simz comes to a conclusion we should all embrace a lot more often:

“Fuck it, I’ll relax.”

ALT-J - 3WW (FEAT. LITTLE SIMZ) (OTG VERSION)

For comparison’s sake, here’s the Young Replicant-direct music video for the original “3WW” featuring Ellie Rowsell of Wolf Alice.

alt-j has a slew of dates coming up this fall in the UK, venue and dates are below. And if you haven’t listened to the other remixes they’ve released, particularly the danny brown collab, you really oughta.

15 Dublin, Olympia Theatre
16 Dublin, Olympia Theatre
17 Dublin, Olympia Theatre (New show)
21 Glasgow, SEC Armadillo
23 Leeds, Town Hall
24 Leicester, De Montfort Hall
25 Gateshead, Sage
28 Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
29 London, Royal Albert Hall
30 London, Royal Albert Hall (New show)

Calvin Paradise is not any one thing. The half-hearted vagabond and forgetful luddite currently resides in Los Angeles and how he spends his time is none of your damned business.