Soulful crooner and relative newcomer Mikky Ekko stopped by Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show and covered The xx‘s subtle and somber Coexist track “Chained”. It’s still very much a tragic, heartbreaking song, but Mikky really makes it his own with this rendition, inserting runs and shifting octaves throughout. In a way, it’s almost unrecognizable, an entirely separate R&B ballad, and this is hardly a bad thing. In addition to glimpsing his creativity, we get yet another taste of his smooth, smooth vocals. We heard it on his breakout single “Pull Me Down” (produced by Clams Casino), but this cover in particular puts his voice front-and-center, and it’s beautiful.
’Mikky Ekko – Chained (The xx cover) (Live on Radio 1)’
