Well now. I’ve reviewed this chap before. Tiger Lotiss, aka Daniel Ly, has already caught my ear with his previous single Chameleon (under the artist monicker TiGER), which you can find elsewhere on this site. This new track, Tiger In The Garden, is another head turner – as proven by his continued success in a USA-hosted music competition into which this single has blasted its way.

Tiger brings us a heavily swing-driven beat, complimented with an outrageously funky jazz bass that drives the whole track along at a compelling pace. With the vocal at a strong and fey Countertenor (let’s see which of the music students here know that one!) and a smooth yet slightly menacing melody, we have ourselves one of those releases I like to refer to as a Rattlesnake. Highly commercial, ridiculously danceable, but a wee bit threatening in its undertone. I like.

It’s a lyrically thoughtful number, pushing one to ask oneself the question of whether we’re heading in our direction or someone else’s. Backed by some excellently delivered rhythm section work – especially from that stand-out bass – and you will be tapping your foot within seconds, I assure you.

Self produced, engineered by Sebastian Judd, the track would definitely sit in the pop genre with a somewhat avant-garde skew that I believe would be very well received all round. A great vid consisting of live action pieces out and about in the City of Sails is highly complimentary and does not overpower the strong audio product. It’s on YouTube so go check it. I also like to let the writer tell us what the song is about, so from the EPK:

As the son of immigrants, Tiger grew up witnessing the sacrifices his parents made to create opportunities for future generations. While grateful for those sacrifices, he also found himself wrestling with the weight of expectations and questioning what success truly means.
“We were told that if we studied hard and worked hard enough, we’d be fine. But for many of us, that’s not been the reality. This song is for anyone who’s ever felt like they’ve had to put parts of themselves aside just to get by,” says Tiger.
The inspiration for the song arrived during an ordinary trip to the supermarket.
“I was standing in the fruit and vegetable aisle looking at a $10 mango thinking, ‘How did we get here?’ It became this moment that represented something much bigger — trying to hold onto joy, creativity, and hope while navigating the pressures of everyday life.”

More on the vid. While I won’t add spoilers, direction was by Lemontime Studios Zoe Roche and Promise Akindeju. Choreography by Jacqueline Jimenez.

This is going to be a big radio hit on the nationwide commercial stations, plus hopefully Juice has picked up the vid. I believe it’s left of centre enough to pique the interest of the regional and student stations too so we should be hearing a lot of airtime with this number. It’s on the streaming platforms now, so go seek it out.

Good luck to Tiger in that competition too!