Dylan Cartlidge - Show Up (Single)
Picture Credit: Leo Cackett
Rising star Dylan Cartlidge, one of the UK’s most supremely talented and rejuvenating alternative/soul/hip hop artists, returns with ‘Show Up’—out February 19th—, the second single from his forthcoming album, Lucky Shot.
‘Show Up’, produced by Eg White (Adele, Florence + The Machine, Dua Lipa, Sam Smith) and Engine Earz (SZA, Stormzy, Gorillaz, Skepta, Jorja Smith), relays a deeply personal message.
From the opening lines—"I missed my train this morning, can't use the same excuse I went with last week"—the song confronts personal failings and the struggle to break patterns of avoidance. Dylan, who has lived experience in care, makes ‘Show Up’ deeply personal, challenging cycles of neglect with the searing line: "When dadless kids have dadless kids, and so on." Through raw honesty and urgency, ‘Show Up’ demands effort, growth, and showing up for those who need it most.
‘Show Up’ follows November’s gloriously uplifting single ‘New Day’, (Music video HERE) which marked Dylan’s welcome return after some time away. Both tracks are part of the lead-up to the incredible new album, Lucky Shot, an album about “taking risks, beating the odds even when faced with fear and apprehension that comes with making important decisions”, says Dylan. Due later this year, it’s set to succeed Dylan’s highly-acclaimed first album, Hope Above Adversity. Released in 2021, this stunning debut received widespread industry support, including the New York Times, who referred to Dylan as an English Beck, NME (“A Beastie Boys record being warped in a microwave powered by sheer positivity”), Clash (“life-affirming”) and BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, who called Dylan excitingly “uncategorisable”.
Hailing from the coastal town of Redcar in Yorkshire, Dylan Cartlidge’s sound is born from a journey of resilience and individuality. Raised in the care system, he faced childhood hardships, from instability to poverty, and at 16 made the life-changing decision to leave behind his past and rebuild, a story narrated in the remarkable Hope Above Adversity. He’s gone on to collaborate with artists such as Black Thought, Danger Mouse, Russ, and Superorganism, completed a UK-wide 13-date headline tour, and performed at SXSW, BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend, and on the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury, as well as supporting Superorganism on their tour in 2022.
‘Show Up’, out on Wednesday 19th February, is the exciting second glimpse of Dylan Cartlidge’s forthcoming LP Lucky Shot, produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Neal H. Pogue (Outkast, Steve Lacy, Doja Cat). Arriving nearly four years after his last release, it’s another ray of sonic sunshine from this brilliantly talented and defiantly inspiring artist.