Exciting Nigerian R&B talent PHAEMOUS and internationally acclaimed UK DJ and producer DJAMES have joined forces to bring us a glorious new R&B project titled BOUNDARIES. Written by Phaemous, produced by DJames, and crafted between Lagos and London, the 5-track project does brilliantly to merge its primary R&B soundscapes and melodies, with minimalist afrobeats sensibilities to excellent effects. Boundaries sees the artist and producer pair exploring themes around love and relationships, from first date jitters and expectations, and being ghosted by a crush, to searching for how best to show love and affection, and expressing how you feel to a love interest.
The project opens with the head-bopping ‘MIA’, which sees Phaemous lamenting about how his love interest has gone AWOL on him over DJames’ melodious saxophone arrangements, while the infectious ‘What Is Love?’, driven by its captivating drum patterns, questions whether all we really want is love or money. Elsewhere on the Boundaries EP, things take a sexier turn with ‘First Time’ and its jazzy keyboards and racy lyrics, before it closes out with the sensual ‘Dreaming’, which reveals more of those sexy saxophone arrangements from DJames, combined with his live keyboard elements.
Speaking about the inspiration behind this Boundaries EP, Phaemous says, “the entire project is inspired by the love that DJames and I both have for R&B as well as afrobeats, which is why we were able to infuse both genres to deliver such a satisfying listening experience. We wanted a chance to show our versatility, and I believe we did just that”. DJames adds that, “as a DJ and producer, I love discovering new talent, so working with Phaemous is so exciting for me. I spotted his talent, and thought this project would be the perfect opportunity to showcase what we could do together”.
With over two million streams already under his belt, Phaemous is one of the exciting new R&B prospects coming out of Nigeria in 2023, while DJames is an international DJ and producer that has worked with the likes of Drake and The Weeknd. Recently, DJames has been going viral for his remixes that have seen him garner over quarter of a million followers on TikTok and Instagram alone, and he is set to headline his first London concert this August, after a busy summer schedule that sees him playing in Canada, Germany, Finland, and the Caribbean. Phaemous, on the other hand, is putting finishing touches to his sophomore solo EP Phæway Vol. 2 that is due at the end of the year.