Melbourne born singer and rapper Dylan Joel, returns to Howler for one night, celebrating the release of his brand new collective ‘You Were Made To Blossom’.

After 2 years of writing, recording and writing again, the collection itself demonstrates an artist on a mission to continue to take risks and expand what it means to be an artist in todays climate. That mission begins with calling the collection, ‘You Were Made to Blossom’.

As the title track demonstrates, it’s about silencing the critic in your head and believing in your own abilities. “It’s a message that needs to be pushed in this day and age,” Dylan says. “There is so much self-doubt going on right now and it’s amplified pretty easily by social media. To me, the idea of blossoming is to love ourselves, not in an arrogant or comparative way, but in a way that brings out the best in us. That’s a real hard fight and one that I feel we need to talk about more often. Hence the title.”

Dylan’s reference material was inspired bythe early-2000s R&B he loves, particularly the rhythmic hip-hop-and-acoustic hybrids of Timbaland and early Timberlake, and not forgetting Pharrell. You can hear threads of that in live highlights, ‘Done Witchu’ and ‘Hollering Love’. Each marry the incredible songwriting skills of Joel with the crafty lyrics and deft wordplay, offering both a gritty throwback for the fanbase on the former; and an extension of the hooky earworms as hinted in previous single ‘Run To The River’, a track that effortlessly pops to the percussion of Dylan’s voice – as you’d expect from a former drummer.

When it comes to the live show, expect that, and a whole lot more as Dylan explains. “Our shows can be sort of hyped, but are generally a lot more about the feels” he says. “I love to try get people moving. That generally starts with teaching people the basics, like the ‘two-step’ and then occasionally we might throw in some choreography from myself and the band.