When we spoke to Maryland R&B duo Abhi//Dijon in 2014, the two Ellicott City 20-somethings were still figuring out how to refine their sound.
“We [are still learning] about mixing and having sounds fight for space,” the pair wrote in an email.
Yet Abhi//Dijon’s debut EP, particularly the song “13,” revealed a sensitive ear for pop songwriting. “If we had to describe ’13,’ it reminds us a lot of Justified-era Justin Timberlake and The Neptunes,” they wrote, “without much of the same musicality or production value.”
Now it sounds like Abhi Raju and Dijon Duenas are making progress in the sophistication department. Yesterday NPR premiered “Wait,” the duo’s new slow-burning single (listen below). It occupies the same chilly stratosphere as older songs like “13” and “Twelve” — and Duenas’ whispery vocals sound as sensuous and longing as ever — but production-wise, it’s a step up from the young artists’ earlier stuff.
What’s next for Abhi//Dijon? Possibly an EP — but Duenas told WRGW in February not to expect an LP just yet.
“We would like to make a pretty cool, ambitious full-length, but we’ve been using my apartment and Abhi’s basement to make songs,” he said. “We want a 16-piece horn section too, so it’s hard to fit that in a basement.”