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DRAMA
share playful new single
‘TIGHTEN IT UP’

+ Official music video

+ COACHELLA
debut next month 

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Photo credit: Zoe Rain

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Indie R&B/dance pop duo DRAMA, the multicultural collaboration between producer Na’el Shehade and vocalist Via Rosa, return with their new single, ‘Tighten It Up’.  The playful song was inspired by how it feels to meet someone on the dance floor and share a moment of feisty, confident energy – a tale the duo has heard from many fans who have attended their shows over the years. Directed and edited by Jennifer Medina, the conceptual music video finds DRAMA’s Via Rosa cruising around California, seeing the people she passes by for who they are, their souls and their auras – watch here.

‘This single is different from anything we’ve done in the past, so much so that it’s a little terrifying,’ says DRAMA. ‘This song and our years of partnership are a reminder of what makes releasing new music exciting, that we can continue to try new things and find ways to express ourselves and share it with the universe – in hopes that people will receive it and feel the same way.’

DRAMA wrote ‘Tighten It Up’ at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, the same studio where Michael Jackson wrote ‘Bad’ and drew inspiration from the hit song when crafting the hook. Lyrically, DRAMA was inspired by GREASE to create a Sade meets James Brown Ballad. Via shares, ‘I envisioned horse reigns while in the studio, which set the tone for the song, as I instantly heard the phrase “tighten it up” in my head and the rest just sort of poured out of us.”

‘Tighten It Up’ is the first single from DRAMA this year, which arrives nearly ten years after the duo first met and began making music together. The new single comes at an exciting time for DRAMA as the duo prepare to head to the desert next month for their Coachella debut. DRAMA will perform at both weekends.

Following their Coachella debut, the duo will also perform at Lightning In A Bottle music festival in Buena Vista, CA as well as Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI. DRAMA will also play several headline shows in Aspen, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. For more tickets and  information, visit their website at thedramaduo.com.

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About DRAMA

DRAMA is the multicultural collaboration between producer Na’el Shehade’s chic Chicago house-infused production style, and vocalist Via Rosa whose soulful delivery is inspired by the improvisational nature of jazz and playful patterns of hip-hop and bossa nova. The duo play to the complementary dynamics of their unlikely pairing by blurring the lines between R&B and dance-pop, heartbreak and bliss.

Rosa grew up in a musical household; her parents played in a reggae band and toured as a family, homeschooling Rosa into her early teens and limiting her listening primarily to Sade, oldies, Brazilian and Afrobeat music. She kept poetry journals and by high school started writing songs and making beats. After moving to Chicago in 2010, Rosa connected with THEMPeople, a collective at the center of the city’s sprawling hip-hop scene.

Meanwhile, Shehade inherited a strong work ethic from his immigrant parents. Born in Chicago, he fell in love with DJ culture as a kid and took up music production and engineering; his interest eventually led to professional opportunities, including early studio work with Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, and music projects for MTV and Bravo. Other musical collaborations have included Flight Facilities, Poolside, Jamila Woods, Tensnake and with Gorgon City for their global dance hit, ‘You’ve Done Enough’. Since a chance meeting nearly 10 years ago led to the creation of DRAMA, the duo has bootstrapped a subtle rise on their own terms, self-releasing several EPs and mapping multiple tours and playing some of the biggest festivals including Lollapalooza, Life Is Beautiful, Outside Lands and more with Midwestern grit.

In early jam sessions the chemistry was clear; Rosa’s soulful delivery interlocked with Shehade’s chic Chicago house-infused production style. A lovesick sound emerged over two EPs, Gallows in 2016 and Lies After Love in 2018, and continued on to their debut album Dance Without Me in January 2020. DRAMA released another EP, Don’t Wait Up in 2022 which includes 3 songs that continuously stream in their top 10 tracks, including a fan favourite, ‘3 AM’.

DRAMA continue to pave their own path in 2023 as the duo prepares to release more new music throughout the year and head to the desert for their debut at Coachella in April.

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‘TIGHTEN IT UP’ – DRAMA
OUT NOW EVERYWHERE
LISTEN

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AMNPLIFY – DB