One Woman One Man

In One Woman One Man the guitar riff repeats like a heartbeat that never stops, but it’s not a common loop: there’s a slight offbeat in the measure that gives it that playful feel without losing its punch. The song sounds like a beach party at sunset, with voices intertwining as if everyone on stage were improvising, even though everything is meticulously calculated. The contrast between the relaxed rhythm and the urgency of the melody makes it impossible not to tap your feet, as if your body recognized the pattern before your mind did.

The band behind this, Magic!, was formed when Nasri Atweh —who had already worked with artists like Shakira— gathered other musicians to try out a fresh sound. The track was recorded in 2013, when they were still unknown, but the success of their first single, Rude, led them to sign with Sony Music Entertainment and collaborate on Shakira’s album with Cut Me Deep. In One Woman One Man, you can hear that blend of reggae-pop with touches of pop-rock that would define them, and although it wasn’t their biggest hit, it’s one of those songs that sticks in your memory because of how it sounds.