Battle feat. Meron T
Mackwood

South East London drummer, producer, bandleader and DJ Mackwood returns with ‘Battle feat. Meron’, a charged meeting point between South African club sounds, jazz and contemporary UK electronic music. Following his debut label release ‘Sammy’, Mackwood turns inward on a track rooted in family history, resilience and the search for common ground between musical traditions.

For Mackwood, the single marks his first release to directly explore his heritage. His grandmother came to the UK from Johannesburg in the 1960s to escape apartheid, carving out her own path in a new culture. That legacy became the spark for the track, alongside the spirit he hears in the music of icons like Hugh Masekela.

Rather than treating that influence as a simple reference point, Mackwood brings it firmly into the present. Listening closely to Southern African dance styles, he became fascinated by the extended, layered grooves of Amapiano and GQOM, alongside the cyclical qualities of Kwaito and Bacardi. He found unexpected commonalities with UK Funky and the improvisational heart of jazz.

The result is a high-energy, almost Hyperpop-leaning production, drawing on the sonic worlds of Sam Gellaitry and FKA twigs while leaving space for the vocal to breathe. Gritty and dramatic in its heavier moments, the track opens out into softer passages, creating a constant push and pull between tension and release.

At the centre is South London vocalist and singer-songwriter Meron T, whose R&B-rooted sound draws from UK club culture and the Diaspora. Her London upbringing and East African heritage inform a vocal style that moves effortlessly between warmth, intricacy, and rhythmic instinct. Working through a process that begins with freestyle melodies, her writing brought a natural sense of defiance and emotional clarity to the project.

“To me this song is almost serendipitous. Harry sent this to me at a time when I was having my own internal battles, so I instantly resonated with the beat and knew exactly what to do with it,” says Meron T. “This song is special to me, as it was my first time creating a track with Mackwood despite having a shared musical relationship for some time, so I was honoured that he trusted me with it.”

That chemistry gives the release its emotional core. The song acknowledges adversity without allowing it to become defeat, instead moving between introspection and euphoria – a message of pure determination to keep moving forward.