PREMIERE: Malaki releases his newest collaborative masterwork 'You Told Me'

Written chiefly in the height of isolation, the songs released under the umbrella of Malaki's collaborative Cocoon project all seem to explore different avenues of his journey through the lockdown. In particular, his latest offering – called 'You Told Me' – manages to crack the discussion of isolation open while maintaining a truly remarkable lyrical universality.

The scenarios he spins in his verse are familiar, but the questions with which he confronts his audience are clear: what does it mean to be isolated with mental health issues? What does it mean to express fear, loneliness, or love as a man – or a boy – in this society? 'You Told Me' builds relentlessly on themes present in all of Malaki's work, which leads me to believe he's still searching for the answers to these questions himself.

The track features emerging R&B pop sensation Gemma Bradley, the Derry native's warm tones weaving in and out of Malaki's off-the-cuff, spoken word delivery and producer Matthew Harris' swelling instrumentation.

Each single in Cocoon comes with its very own artwork, and this time Malaki went with Ciara CH, a young artist who specialises in painting and charcoal sketching. "The overall tone of frustration in the song caused me to think about how we express frustration physically in our bodies, faces and eyes", Ciara notes via Instagram. "I tried to incorporate the line that struck me the most: "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil."

Listen to the track below.