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: