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Mar 16, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

Today, singer/songwriter Cole DeGenova has paired with NYC composer and producer Lucas Ellman, sharing a new collaborative single, “Voice of Birds,” premiering early with Under the Radar. Some may recognize DeGenova from his time playing keys in Neal Francis’ band, but he’s also been carving his own lane in the world of smooth electro soul, releasing a full-length debut, Really Human, in 2020 and following last year with a new EP, Dopamine. For his latest single, DeGenova has paired with longtime friend and collaborator Lucas Ellman, co-writing and composing “Voice of Birds.”

The pair’s latest work sees DeGenova taking over vocals and lyrics, while Ellman offers his lush production talents and smooth instrumental stylings to the track. The resulting track feels dizzyingly bright and melodic, pulling from classic jazz and soul styles and weaving them within a refreshingly current soundscape. Ellman’s chilled beats and alluring electronic production flourishes form the song’s foundation, but DeGenova injects warmth and soul into the mix, capturing the gentle springtime joy found in falling in love.

Lucas Ellman shares of the track, “Cole and I have played in bands together for years and I have always respected him as a musician and performer. Previously, not living in the same city felt like a barrier to collaborating, but 2020 put everyone in the same virtual world where suddenly it became the perfect time to make a song together. I sent Cole the ‘Voice of Birds’ track as an instrumental and he sent back some beautiful vocal parts with lyrics about finding love in NYC, a place I call home. I hope the song brings our listeners some of the warmth that it brought me putting this all together.”

Cole DeGenova continues, saying “This song was a COVID quarantine baby. Lucas and I have been making music together since high school but this is the first time we’ve collabed on a song like this; he’s now based in New York and I’m based in Chicago. He reached out to me in 2020 with these beautiful tracks he had produced and I added the vocals and lyrics. We sat on it for a while and decided to finally let the world hear it. The song is about being young and falling in love in New York, or any big city for that matter. I think it brought us both some sweet nostalgia during the bleak quarantine days.” Check out the song below.