Photo by Stefan Tivodar
By Clare Martin
Two years ago, Ele Breslin (Zapho, The X Collective co-founder) and Chloë Agnew (Celtic Woman) happened to meet at a songwriting camp, and the track that would become “WB” was born. Breslin took up production and songwriting duties, using an old Zapho loop as the basis of the demo, and Agnew served as singer and songwriter.
The pair recruited three other talented women from The X Collective (a new Irish music platform launched by Oíche Events in 2020) to bring the bravado-filled track to life: Tosin Bankole (lead vocalist of Toshín), Gemma Bradley, and Senita Appiakorang (fka Shookrah). The result feels like “Lady Marmalade” with a dash of Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” steeped in ‘90s R&B. The single is the first off The X Collective’s debut album, which is due out later this year.
“This song has been a long time coming, we knew it was special and so we had originally intended to pitch it to a well-known girl band, instead we came up with the idea to make our own band within the collective itself,” The X Collective explains. “We weren’t short of some outrageously talented vocalists! Seeing the song grow from a small home-produced demo to a ten person musical collaboration was magical, and making the music video to match our vision was key to capture a sense of the women behind the music.”
Senita says of the track: “’WB’ is an anthem, it’s a motivator, it’s a bop fit for the dance floors when things reopen and we hope it gets you going as much as it’s given us so much joy to create and bring to full colour.” We can’t help but agree.
“Before I kick your ass to the curb / I’ll tell you something first / You got playing with the wrong bitch, honey,” the vocalists declare on the song’s chorus, the type of catchy line that you’re bound to wind up scream-singing with your friends when they’ve been wronged.
Listen to “WB” below.
Nameless Faceless 