Riffiter on TRALALA

TRALALA is Manifest's first original song in English (December's "Amateur" was "Amatör" translated), and it doesn't try to pass as a London record. The video was shot in London and still fills the frame with tea, an evil eye bead and a "maşallah". That's the whole idea, and it works better than a neutral crossover would have. The hook is the title chanted until it sticks, which it does after one play. On record the production is glossy and a little thin; the verses are there to get you back to the chant. Live it lands harder. Seven days after release they sang it at OVO Arena Wembley, early in the set and again in the encore. A calling card more than a classic, but a good one.