Townewest Aim Sky High with “ENERGY GAVE ME A CHANCE”

Townewest’s hip-hop influenced comeback continues to challenge and innovate the group.

Townewest has never been a boy band known to play it safe. 

But on their new single “ENERGY GAVE ME A CHANCE”, Bouquet, Jonum, and Gio Alford are pushing towards dizzying new heights. The track is the boys first shot at a proper hip-hop track with influences taken from soloists Smino and Saba. The group has always functioned as a rolling collective of artists who offer new styles and genres as they hop on board. They’ve learned how to maximize any collaboration to push forward the experimental side of Townewest,  from BU-WAN and backyard ghost’s saucy verses on “MAKE UR MIND UP” to the house influence of “MINIMAL” with maxine. 

“ENERGY GAVE ME A CHANCE” takes its cues from funk and hip-hop. Listen closely and you may hear the weirdness of Outkast’s Andre 3000, which is music that infiltrated Bouquet’s childhood. “I grew up with rock, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music, so when I first started making music it was more hip-hop than anything,” he told me after I previewed the song. “So now we were able to take an idea and add where we came from and also incorporate our growth with it.” 

The track is a funhouse whirlwind that pulls you from room to room with fresh rap bars and unexpected beat drops. Just as you believe you understand where things are going, Bouquet’s production swerves to another soundscape. This sort of audaciousness is where Townewest has begun to cement their sound. They thrive in conditions that would terrify most artists, and consistently try to create work that challenges both themselves and their listeners. Their “it factor” is ingrained in how they refuse to make a straightforward pop song. 

Bouquet first began work on the track in his bedroom when he decided he wanted to “put good energy into something.” He brought the end result to Jonum and asked him to sing over the bridge. The group also enlisted vocalist Riccy DeLeon to the track, who previously worked with Bouquet on a track that rivaled this one with it’s unexpected turns. Yet it’s likely the addition of Gio that has elevated “ENERGY” into a new space for the group. “With Gio as a main member we are definitely pushing forward with the sounds we feel represents us,” Bouquet added. 

Hip-hop has always been part of the nuts-and-bolts of Townewest’s definition, but never as intentionally as here. Of course, the group has no plans to stay stagnant or comfortable. Plans are already underway for new collaborations and more music that will drop in 2024. 

“Creating pop/anti-pop music was cool but it’s very limiting,” Bouquet said, noting that this is an important step in their artistic development. “So we gotta branch out to what will let our creativity shine the most.”