WSTRN

WSTRN (pronounced Western), is a British R&B collective consisting of Akelle Charles, Haile, and Louis Rei. Their debut single, "In2", was released on 20 July 2015,[1] and peaked at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Louis Rei was formerly known as LB, Akelle was formerly known as A-Star and is Haile's cousin. Haile has featured on several tracks as a solo artist, including "Can't Blame Me" by Nines.

WSTRN
OriginWest London, England
Genres
Years active2015–present
LabelsAtlantic
Associated acts
Websitewstrnmusic.com
MembersHaile
Louis Rei
Akelle Charles

Background

WSTRN consists of Akelle Charles, Haile and Louis Rei.[2] The name bears no relevance to westerns; according to the band, the name represents positive vibrations[3] and to them means that it is "West London's turn to shut down the scene".[4] Akelle and Haile are cousins who know Louis through their inhabitance of West London, while Akelle is the brother of singer Angel[2] and was part of a band with him and his three other siblings called the Charles Family, co-managed by the late reggae singer Smiley Culture and Akelle's father, Tendai Charles, who was in the same reggae group as Haile's father. Rei's father is Gary Beadle. The group failed to achieve mainstream success despite being the subject of a BBC documentary One Life. Akelle Charles had two main followers, which were his nephews, who encouraged him to keep producing songs as well as the will to be signed.[5]

Career

2015–present: Formation and "In2"

Their debut single, "In2", was released on 20 July 2015,[6] through Link Up TV[7] and came together as a result of a jam session, instrumental first; Akelle and Haile had written a track and had asked Louis to feature on it.[4] It was recorded in one of the group's first sessions[8] and has appeared on the Radio 1Xtra and Kiss FM playlists.[9] Two music videos were produced for the song – the first was pulled after the band signed to Atlantic Records, while the second was produced by Sally Sibbet and sees the group loitering across West London.[10] Prior to the release of the latter video, Atlantic Records pulled down 43 unofficial YouTube and SoundCloud links before its submission.[3]

On 30 October, "In2" debuted at number 85 in the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, and climbed to number 60 on 6 November, the day of its digital download release. For these two weeks, it charted on streams alone. Upon its digital release, it peaked at number 4 on 13 November 2015, earning the group its first top 40 and general chart entry.[11]

On 2 December 2015, the trio released the song "Got Love",[12] produced by Parallel (a collective made up of Akelle's brother, Angel, and PRGRSHN).[13] The song was available to download for free when subscribing to their mailing list,[14] and was also released via digital retailers on 4 December. The group expressed via Twitter that the song was not a single.[15] According to Clash Music, the song is about "appreciating the simple things in life".[16]

On 28 July 2018, Akelle was convicted alongside his brother of violent disorder following an attack on a 60-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man in their own flat. He received a ​4 1⁄2-year sentence of imprisonment. [17]

Discography

Mixtapes
Title Mixtape details Peak chart positions
UK
[18]
WSTRN Season
  • Released: 6 July 2016
  • Format: Free digital download
 —
DOU3LE 3AK
  • Released: 12 October 2018
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Formats: Streaming, digital download
 95
WSTRN Season, Vol. 2
  • Released: 30 August 2019
  • Label: Atlantic
  • Formats: Streaming, digital download
 82

Singles

As lead artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK
[18]		 UK R&B
[19]		 AUS
[20]
"In2" 2015 4110 Non-album singles
"Come Down" 2016 89——
"A-List" 74——
"Trap Love"
(featuring Fekky)		 ———
"On the Go" 2017 ———
"Social"
(featuring MoStack)		 ———
"Txtin'"
(featuring Alkaline)		 ———
"Ben' Ova" ——— DOU3LE 3AK
"Love Struck"
(featuring Tiwa Savage and Mr Eazi)[23]		 2018 ———
"Sharna" ———
"Round Here"
(featuring Skrapz)		 87——
"Medusa"
(featuring Unknown T)		 2019 ——— WSTRN Season, Vol. 2
"Maggie & Stardawg" ———
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
UK BEL
(FL)		 IRE NZ SWI
"Bridge over Troubled Water"
(as part of Artists for Grenfell)		 2017 12625—[upper-alpha 1]28 Non-album singles
"Vice Versa"
(One Acen featuring WSTRN)		 2018 —————

Promotional singles
Title Year Album
"Best Friend (Remix)"
(featuring Youngs Teflon)		 2015 Non-album singles
"Got Love"

Remixes
Title Year Artist
"Coming Home"
(Parallel Remix featuring WSTRN)		 2015 Sigma and Rita Ora
"Fine Wine"
(Remix featuring WSTRN)		 2017 Yxng Bane
"Fine Line"
(Remix with WSTRN)		 2018 Mabel

Notes
  1. "Bridge over Troubled Water" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart.[24]
gollark: I would just meddle with the filesystem.
gollark: And create a `.env` file with some stuff in it.
gollark: If you want to use much of that SPUDNET thing, you also need to manually add a key to the database.
gollark: Nope, the shell is the normal one.
gollark: It's Node.js. It should. However, it's not public. However, I can give you the code if I check over it for secrets first.

References
  1. WSTRN - IN2 (Original Video) | Link Up TV, retrieved 22 January 2020
  2. "This Week's Fresh Music Top 20". 22 October 2015. 4Music. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  3. "Is WSTRN'S "In2" The Underground Smash Hit of The Year". Noisey.vice.com.
  4. "Introducing WSTRN: 'Playing live is the best feeling'". The Official Charts Company.
  5. Simpson, Eva (24 March 2013). "Meet Angel, the new R&B star who turned his fortunes around after jail". The Guardian.
  6. "WSTRN Drop Brand New Video For 'In2'". MTV.
  7. WSTRN - IN2 (Original Video) | Link Up TV, retrieved 22 January 2020
  8. "Introducing the biggest and smallest act in the UK right now, WSTRN". Gigwise.
  9. "Listen to WSTRN's new track 'In2'". The 405.
  10. "WSTRN Unveil Official Video For New Song 'In2'". Capital Xtra.
  11. "WSTRN | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  12. "The 5 Biggest New Songs To Drop this Week (4th December 2015)". Capital Xtra. 4 December 2015.
  13. "WSTRN release brand new video 'Got Love'". GRM Daily. 3 December 2015.
  14. Brydon, Grant (3 December 2015). "WSTRN show that they've 'Got Love' for the fans with free download". RWD Magazine.
  15. Gboyega, Adenike (3 December 2015). "WSTRN return with new track 'Got Love'". MOBO Awards.
  16. Murray, Robin (3 December 2015). "Listen: WSTRN Share 'Got Love'". Clash.
  17. Adejobe, Alicia (28 July 2017). "WSTRN singer Akelle Charles jailed after grandmother's teeth knocked out in assault". International Business Times.
  18. Peaks in the United Kingdom:
  19. Peak positions for singles on the UK R&B Chart:
  20. "australian-charts.com – Discography WSTRN". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  21. "British single certifications – WSTRN – In2". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  22. Ryan, Gavin (20 February 2016). "ARIA Singles: Lukas Graham '7 Years' Is No 1". Noise11. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  23. "Love Struck (feat. Tiwa Savage & Mr Eazi) / WSTRN TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  24. "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
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