Listen: Swimming / Drowning — Shima

Having previously impressed with her singles Rare and Machine, half-Japanese, half-American musician Shima is back with another distinctive slice of modern R&B-influenced pop.

Swimming / Drowning is Shima’s most polished song yet, her cool vocal skipping across the polished surface of the song’s production. Synths play out an unfussy, laid back melody before crunchy bass kicks in for a chorus that creates a complex tune from multiple layered vocals. The production here really stands out for the way it feels at once both restrained and sophisticated.

That forward-slash in the title seeks to convey the proximity between swimming and drowning, and how one can actually feel like the other. Focusing on the relationships between success and failure, Shima looks to portray the struggle and energy it takes not just to succeed, but to fail as well. Here is hoping that she gets the success she deserves here.

Check out Swimming / Drowning below:

Stream Swimming / Drowning by SHIMA from desktop or your mobile device

Listen: Machine - Shima feat. Miyachi

It would appear that August is the month for pop songs called Machine. Back following up on Rare, her single released this time last year, Shima is a half-Japanese, half-American musician who brings together an eclectic array of sounds, cultivating a crisp modern reimagining of what pop can be.

Describing the creation of Machine, Shima explains how the song came about as she decided to pursue music as a full time career, leaving her office job behind:

“I started writing this song shortly before I quit, as I started to realize that I was living in denial by choosing a safe and low-risk career. However, it soon transformed into a broader commentary on how corporations treat their employees.”

There is a a sense of fun to Machine, but it ultimately describes something important: we should work to live, and not live to work. It can be easy to feel dominated by our jobs at times, and it is important that we remember what matters.

Together with Shima’s cool, sassy vocal, Machine really additional vocals from rapper Miyachi, who brings contrast to the track whilst maintaining its overall energy.

Check out Machine below: