Tim De Cotta (feat. Ghetti) : When I Met You
Coming fresh off his first single, the funk-tinted cautionary tale of infidelity Lying Eyes, When I Met You is Tim De Cotta’s second single in anticipation of his upcoming Heart Matter EP. Deceivingly simple and groovy to no end, De Cotta wears his heart on his sleeve in an ode to the love of his life, his wife Joan.
Starting with a contemplative guitar loop on the verse, De Cotta masterfully builds upon it before taking it to a groovy, ethereal chorus. In what almost seems like a hip-hop beatmaker’s approach, De Cotta takes advantage of the track’s minimalist structure to play with creative layers and textures as it goes along. De Cotta weaves in a touchingly earnest and endearing narrative about about love at first sight. (“When I met you/ I knew/ I just knew”)
When I Met You’s understated Dilla-esque drums might seem skeletal at first, but work incredibly well as the track starts to tastefully layer its thumping kick, phaser-laced hi-hats, convivial claps, and minimalist tom fills all together. De Cotta’s renowned bass chops takes the backseat, besides a trippy envelope filtered motif on the second verse, he opts only for a simple groove to drive the chorus that allow his vocals to take centre stage. With De Cotta’s lush production choices, the atmospheric backing vocals also help the song’s chorus to truly soar. Keyboardist NAztyKeys also contributes to the track in the form of a delightful arrangement on the keys prior to Ghetti’s rap outro.
Lyrically, When I Met You doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel and fits squarely into what you’d expect from a love song (“The first time I saw your face/ Was the first time I fell from grace/ The first time I caught your eye/ Never knew I could feel so high”), but De Cotta’s tender vocal performance in a heartfelt testament professing his love makes it just work. Featured rapper Ghetti’s verse towards at the end of the song is an impressive feat of improvisation that adds tons of character to the track, albeit feeling a little disjointed at times due to the inherent nature of freestyle verses.
If Lying Eyes didn’t already get funk and soul fans excited for De Cotta’s Heart Matter EP, a close listen to When I Met You would surely get the job done.