Leanna Oki – I Taught You How to Dream (2022)
Following the end of a relationship, you can feel like you have been left in the dark and struggle to find the light. If you are in this situation, Leanna Oki has the empowering single you need with ‘I Taught You How to Dream’. Inspired by a past relationship where an ex never had dreams until the relationship started, the track is a tale of heartbreak and healing.
Using moody pop and smooth RnB infusions, Oki has you ricocheting through a dark and dreamy soundscape riding the profound emotions of her stacked vocals. Her fifth independently release single, it showcases the emotive power of her music, while building on her rich musical passion. When you listen to this track, you will see why Oki is definitely an artist you should keep an eye on.
The vocals that open ‘I Taught You How to Dream’ have a really dreamy feeling to them, like you are listening to someone talk just as you fall asleep. Oki’s vocals push through the dreaminess with a dose of reality and disbelief. Through her performance, you can hear the heartache that comes with a breakup that turns into a condemnation. The flow of pain to anger is one that many can relate to and has been beautifully handled by Oki. After the swell of the chorus, the lyrics start to move on and lead you to the light, and out of the darkness that invades your senses with heartbreak. The chorus is stunning as Oki’s vocals are stacked in layers to bring a richness to the performance. Each layer has a unique flair that creates a swelling dreaminess that is really powerful. This layering continues in the latter parts of the track to form overlapping clouds of dreams and reality, while pushing you forward into the light.
While the opening vocals flow on their own, a deep beat hits just before Oki’s performance comes through. The interplay between her vocals and the beat form the movement of the opening verse, before a shimmer of dreaminess glitters through your senses and draws you into the chorus. As the stacked vocals hit on the chorus, the melody rises to match. The beats shuffle into a ricochet of energy that brings a light jitter to the skin. This all drops for the next verse which heads back into a dreamy movement. The melodic arrangement has been perfectly crafted to enhance the emotive flow of her vocals.
Moody, yet dreamy and empowering, ‘I Taught You How to Dream’ is a captivating showcase of the emotive musicality of Leanna Oki. Her vocals are the primary focus of the single as they move you from the darkness of heartbreak into the light of moving on. Bolstering her performance is a melody that moves from a dreamy shimmer to ricocheting beats that dance across your skin.
Find out more about Leanna Oki on her website, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
