·May 26, 2023·2 min read

Tugging at heartstrings, one metaphor at a time: Etham, on “I Won’t”

With well over a million people listening to his thought-provoking music every month, Etham hardly needs an introduction. Carving out a niche for himself with his harmony-rich, instrument-sparse, powerful vocal style, “I Won’t” is the first in a line of releases he has planned for himself. What is it about this song that makes it so good? Keep reading to find out.

The electronics-heavy style of making music today sometimes shifts out of perspective just how powerful and truly mesmerising just the human voice can be. Take that and turn the intensity up to eleven, and you’re starting to approach Etham’s style. From the softer, more introspective verses, to the crescendo amassing all the energy around itself to make the impact it needs to; Etham stands out with his on-point vocal delivery here. There are no complaints, no weaker sections– just him going from height to height, taking us on a rollercoaster, especially around the second half of the song, where he finds comfort in the upper ranges of his wide, resonant, and honestly, delicious voice. Yes, I fawn over it. 😛

The production remains beautifully minimalist, with just some gentle instrumentation in the background to keep the pulse of the music and ease the listener in terms of the dynamics– while the soft piano acts as the perfect accompaniment to the absolutely poetic songwriting, and as I alluded to before, spotless delivery.

While I usually take some time to talk about a song from the perspective of a sound engineer, here, “I Won’t”; if you excuse the pun, I say that only because all I have to say for it, is praise. The vocals are powerful, present, and drive the song with effortless panache; the pianos in the background with the subtle orchestral percussion occupy a wide, confident stage, making the whole song sound very theatrical, and that is something my ears loved munching on.

Absolute class, mate. Check out “I Won’t” by Etham here!