photo by meredith dooma

Entertainment

song premiere: ducky

free music to soundtrack your first-time kisses and sun-rising moments.

by rebecca willa davis

"Beats to shake your ass to but words to make you think."

That's how Ducky says you'll know that "U Turn Me Up" is one of her tracks, and to be honest, it might be the best song-writing ethos we've every heard. The New York City-based producer-turned-vocalist injects a bit of meaning into what, in anyone else's hands, might be run-of-the-mill dance music.

In the case of her new single "U Turn Me Up," Ducky (aka Morgan Neiman) tried to capture the feelings that come with new crushes. "On the surface it's romantic, you know: here's this exciting new guy/girl and they turn me up....but I'm generally not trying to tell narrative tales so much as I'm trying to convey these sort of shared emotional states, and the illustrative bits are just part of the way you get there," Ducky says. She adds, "The particular state of bliss I wanted to feel in this song comes to me when I'm watching the sun rise over the East River in the summer, or I'm touching down in a new city for the first time, or I sneak into a particularly epic party. Any kind of beautiful but surreal moment that makes life feel like a movie."

Want to feel that too? Good, because we've got the exclusive premiere of "U Turn Me Up," and you can download it right here for free. As for when you should play it, Ducky suggests any of the following moments:

- When the sun is rising and you're watching it.

- When you're kissing someone for the first time.

- When it snows for the first time this year and you wonder what winter might bring.

- When it is nighttime in a big city and you pause to take in the bright lights.

- Any time you are happy and excited and life feels good!