RACE BANYON ft. KENZIE MAY ‘Surface (co-prod. by DJ DAHI)’

New Zealand’s Eddie Johnston, better known as Race Banyon (as well as alter ego Lontalius), recently premiered “What Are We Doing” feat. Ty Dolla $ign (co-prod. by DJ Dahi) on The FADER, earning critical praise across the board, including HYPETRAK’s observation that the project brought together “disparate, yet equally talented artists for genre-bending collaborations… that continue to crank out heat.”

Now, Race Banyon is back to premiere “Surface,” the second song off his forthcoming two-track digital single, What Are We Doing, out Friday via Red Bull Sound Select. “Surface” features London-raised R&B singer Kenzie May and, like previous single “What Are We Doing,” is co-produced by DJ Dahi (Drake, Dr. Dre’s Compton, Big Sean).

In 2015, Race Banyon performed alongside Sylvan Esso during 30 Days in LA and connected with DJ Dahi at the Los Angeles Red Bull Studios to record “Surface” and “What Are We Doing.”

(L-R) Race Banyon and DJ Dahi records at Red Bull Studios in Santa Monica CA, USA on 22 October, 2015. 

Since announcing his arrival with the release of his Whatever Dreams Are Made Of EP in 2013, Race Banyon has been one of the most in-demand remixers for prominent bands in New Zealand. His work has evolved from club-tempo top 40 remixes into sleek original songs, mixing the pulse and musicality of house, techno, juke and footwork with the raw emotional heft of R&B and vocal acrobatics of rap. Over the last three years, he’s headlined sold-out shows across New Zealand and shared stages with Jamie xx, Rustie, Ryan Hemsworth, oOoOO, BadBadNotGood and Kaytranada. In addition to his two-track digital single due out Feb. 26th, Eddie Johnston’s other incarnation, Lontalius, is set to release a debut full-length I’ll Forget 17 in March 2016.

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