ION is the alias of emerging London-based artist Jon Sadiku, who origins from Kosovo. This multi-faceted talent expresses creative themes across his releases by uniquely blending forward-thinking lyrics with elevating atmospherics. His latest single 'Eskimo Music' reveals an undeniably captivating addition to his growing discography, so we caught up with ION to enlighten us about the music he loves and why.
Bari - Joi
I thought I'd start with this song because of how much I enjoy the overall soundscape of it, it's so easy on the ears! I think the reason why boils down to the cohesiveness between all its different elements. The intricacy of the trap drums accompanied by the glassy sound effects merge really well with the vocal performance resulting in this quite pleasant and laid-back listening experience. It's also a really good showcase of the signature trap production of Monte Booker, which I admire.
2. Vince Staples - Alyssa Interlude
This song intrigues me because of how interesting the drums are, the patterns sculpted here with the chosen palette of sounds makes this track stand out as a unique moment in an album that is already very experimental. I think any art that tries to do something new like this is important for the advancement and evolution of creations that take place after it. So as someone who creates art myself I see the value in these experiments!
3. JPEGMAFIA - Baby I'm Bleeding
I don't even know how to begin describing this one, it just screams abstract from the start. The reason why I've chosen it here is due to the type of thinking that it causes me to go into. I find that if you just allow it's eccentric and relentless loop to run rampant it creates this really unique sense of energy that I can best describe as being kooky. Experiencing this live is where it really shines however, as everything I've explained above gets elevated to even crazier levels. The sheer mind state that it puts you in is such an interesting experience to go through, which is what I think the song was made to do and it does it really well.
4. JID - LAUDER
This is a song that I've known for quite a while and is one that I tend to revisit every now and again because of the sheer proficiency in its lyricism, which is something that I laud. This is one of JIDs' earlier songs and you can really hear the rawness of his linguistic talent, which is being delicately emphasised by the cold and brittle production of J. Cole. Listening back now you can really hear the origins of the style that we know him for today. I guess I keep going back to it because it's really motivating seeing someone who honed their skills back then achieving such high success now. I was lucky to see him perform live before he became well-known and that is something that I cherish because everyone has to start somewhere, and I've seen for myself how valuable the right ethic towards your craft can be.
5. Smino - Z4L
This is another song I end up revisiting because of how well Smino caught the groove here over more of Monte Bookers' trap production. As an artist myself I understand how difficult it can be to find the best way to approach vocals on an instrumental, it's a talent within itself and Smino, Bari and Jay2 got it so right with this one. Nothing more needs to be said, I think the song speaks for itself!
Check out ION's new single 'Eskimo Music' here: