First Listen: Artan & Spencer Elmer

Artan is the North London hailing rapper and genre-blender that has been traversing the underground hip-hop scene in the UK, whilst subverting the status quo of sounds emanating from the city; for half a decade. Spencer Elmer is the internet-savvy rapper and content creator with an almost magic approach to capturing the attention of an online generation both with his content and musical explorations. Together, on their new lo-fi lads anthem “She’s A 10 But…” they’re an electric duo, two masters of sonic satire, rapping coolly about the plight of the millennial stoner.

When the smooth, synthesized mellotrons that bolster the production of “She’s A 10 But…” began emerging as a TikTok sound last month, it was clear that the link-up between Artan and Spencer Elmer was on its way to being a hit amongst their respective online audiences. In a digital media landscape that is currently dominated by drill, afrobeats and iterations of hyper-pop, the foundational elements of a track like “She’s A 10 But…” harken back to the nostalgic vaporwave sound which marked the birth of the “internet-genre”, and made clear the path for musical virality.

Thus, whilst “She’s A 10 But…” is a track that is cutting through the digital noise right now due to its departure from the expected sonic direction of a viral hit, Artan and Spencer Elmer have done well in capturing the attention of audiences through the cultivation of a sonic familiarity.

This is our “First Listen” with Artan & Spencer Elmer

First Watch:

Cleverly mirroring the light-hearted nature of the track, the Ben Stancombe directed visual for "She's A 10 But..." uses an array of creative point-of-view perspectives, and see’s the lads performing, ironically, against a Birmingham inner-city backdrop. Within the visual, Artan & Spencer Elmer do a great job of capturing the essence of lad culture, loitering around the city's pubs and community centres to no end. Without a need for grandiose production, Stancombe’s D-I-Y approach to filmmaking results in the visual for "She's A 10 But..."feeling tangible and relatable to the viewer. On the creative direction behind the video, Artan and Spencer share that, “since we’re always in Birmingham anyway, we thought we might as well shoot the video there.” “The whole day was super fun”, continues Artan, as he details that they spent the most-part of the shoot, “basically on a little brum tour, visiting all the hotspots in central Birmingham, which was an experience in itself”.

First Listen:

"She's A 10 But..." is stylistically chill. Speaking on the inspirations behind the track, Artan & Spencer explain that, “to be completely honest, we just wanted to make a song that speaks to our current reality; a song we could vibe out on”. Its’ texturally simple instrumental feels as laid back as the lads’ approach, albeit though the production is sparse, the clarity and attention to detail displayed within each element of the beat is impressive. Across the productions’ undulating melodic lines, right through to its distinctive drum patterns which are accented by 808’s frequently appearing and dissipating to mark the movement across the songs sections, the production on "She's A 10 But..." perfectly sets up Artan & Spencer to deliver an instant classic.

Artist Perception:

Detailing how the "She's A 10 But..."came about, Artan elaborates that it was actually recorded in a Birmingham studio with their producer Ben; who is, again quite ironically, a brummie native. “ I was telling [Ben] about recently seeing a girl from around the way, but her accent was a bit of an ‘ick’” Artan confesses, “that detail somehow made it into the hook of the song”. In response to the question of how they perceive the song now that it’s been released into the world, the lads share that outside of this collaboration, “usually, [they’re] quite introspective people''. Therefore, a product of “She’s A 10 But…” has been that they each harnessed the opportunity to showcase their respective ability to make light-hearted music that looks outwards rather than inwards. “We thought, let's just kick back, light one up, and have some fun” concludes Artan. In closing, it’s clear as day that the lads’ approach to recording, and they’re perception of the final track, mirror each other perfectly.