#1 mic 1 take

If there’s one thing that’s become crystal clear during quarantine it’s that people are clamoring for live music. The days of screaming out lyrics in a large crowd and being convinced your favorite artist made eye contact with you seem long behind us. Luckily platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook exist so we can get a taste of some of our favorite artists performing live. Recently, Banks has taken to YouTube to post stripped-down versions of her songs “Drowning”, “Contaminated”, “Stroke”, and “If We Were Made of Water” to accompany the release of her EP Live And Stripped.

When Banks released “Drowning” in 2014 it became a heartbreak anthem for Alternative R&B lovers. Although she wrote the song about her best friend who was having a hard time with someone, banks still managed for her voice to hold the weight and sadness of the situation. This is most notable when she sang the lines “From the girl who made you soup / And tied your shoes when you were hurting / You are not deserving, you are not deserving.” 

The video for “Drowning” in 1 mic 1 take, breathes new life into the song. Similar to the EP title, the studio Banks is singing in is stripped back and nearly empty save for a few band members. As the video begins and Banks starts to bob back and forth you can’t help but nod along but once you hear the lyrics “Take it from the girl you claim to love / You’re gonna get some bad karma,” you remember that this is a Banks song and somehow she is getting you to dance while simultaneously breaking your heart. Not only is Banks reinventing her music, but she has also managed to release the perfect quarantine ballad. 

–Carol Wright