Midlands singer songwriter S. T. Manville released two brand new tracks on 22 May on Difficult Records – moving new single ‘Best I Can Do‘ and poignant b-side ‘Diary’. Having clocked up over 1.5 million streams with previous releases ‘Little Victories’ and‘Somebody Else’s Songs’ last year, the two new tracks are Manville’s first to be released in 2020, marking a year since the artist first emerged.
Intimate and raw lead track ‘Best I Can Do’ is an open letter to those struggling with feeling overwhelmed – Manville explains:
When I started writing the song all I had was the “I wish that I could split myself in two, I’m doing the best I can do” line. I kept singing it over and over. At the time I was having to raise my kids by myself and I think it was a way of coping with the situation, telling myself that although I didn’t feel I was doing enough, that I was doing my best. So when it came to making a video I decided to play on this idea of ‘splitting myself in two’ as I think for me that is still the crux of the song. I usually make my videos myself so I wasn’t too daunted with having to shoot one during lockdown, the difference was that I usually do it with a small crew of close friends which obviously wasn’t an option. To get the duplication to work I had to shoot both performances in one take and directly after each other. If I messed the second performance up I had to go back and shoot the first one again. It was a little frustrating but I managed to shoot, edit and grade the whole thing a day and although it might not have as high a production value as my other videos I really like it.
S.T. Manville
2020 has already seen a sold-out UK co-headline tour with Katie Malco and plans to appear at several UK and European festivals. With a new EP scheduled for later in the year, Manville is quickly making a name for himself as one of the most exciting new emerging artists around.
Sam is doing a live ‘tour’ online with a number of venues (listed below) via their social channels.
15/06 – The Cookie, Leicester 8.30 pm BST
16/06 – The Bodega, Nottingham 8.30 pm BST
17/06 – Sofa Sessions 7.30 pm BST
18/06 – The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham 8.30 pm BST
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