Out now via Berlin-based Irrsinn Records is “Blooming”, the sophomore album from Bernese singer/rapper Cobee. And, it has to be said, compared to his debut from four years ago it is an entirely different beast! In a massively courageous bid for artistic independence and development, Cobee has swapped hip-hop beats, hints of jungle and heaps of autotune for guitars, drums and britpop. Thus, opener “Boogeyman (“.”)” could be a track straight off Blur’s “Blur” album.

“I feel I’m a late-bloomer in a way”, says Cobee. “The music that I’m making now is exactly the kind of music I’ve always wanted to make. Previously, it’s all been a sort of “trying-out” of things. Now I’ve arrived at a place I always wanted to reach – myself.” Not that still fresh-faced Cobee is a copyist. On the contrary. “Blooming” amply demonstrates his ability to integrate everything he has learned from the rapping game – timing, a delight in unusual sounds, German-language lyrics, the odd use of autotune – in a deeply personal take on indie.