Cloud-nine (n): “a state of perfect happiness” or “a feeling of well-being or elation.”
The first collaboration between Maryland’s Coexist Music Group and Devin Jano, “Cloud 9” is appropriately light and fluffy.
It’s a slight departure for Coexist, an Anne Arundel County-based collective made up of four teenagers — King Caesar and Kimani (both age 19), Charlie Radical (18) and Surrency (17) — who explored a rougher sound with “Bang Bang.” This track has a bounce — one the group calls “modern retro.”
“[The sound] wasn’t fully intentional,” Charlie Radical writes in an email. “The concept grew from us having a liking for old and new music.”
“Cloud 9” is helmed by Baltimore singer Devin Jano, whose smooth vocals set the tune’s feel-good tone early. Coexist bring a youthful energy, one so buoyant they find themselves lifted off their feet in the song’s charmingly old-fashioned video, directed by Nathan Colby (watch it above).
Outside of this project, Jano and Coexist have formed another collective, Legacy, which the vocalist describes in businesslike terms.
“We’ve formed our own brand together to broaden our musical horizons for our collaborative releases and build social capital,” Jano says.
Legacy plans to release an EP in late 2015 or early 2016.