Every year, around August time, football fans whip themselves up into a frenzy with the arrival of the new season in England, Spain, Italy and Europe’s top leagues. A month later, they whip themselves up into an even bigger frenzy as the countdown to the latest edition of the FIFA game series begins. Release dates are revealed, player ratings are discussed furiously online and the soundtrack is unveiled.
FIFA has often been praised for its musical selections and this year, for FIFA 22, British-Lebanese artist, Bklava, has been included, as part of special, separate soundtrack for Volta, a popular street football mode in the game. Curated to reflect a gritty, street feel, the massive 70-track playlist features the likes of Parisien producers, DJ Snake & Malaa; UK drill rapper, Headie One, with Afroswing duo, Young T & Bugsey; Atlanta hip-hop duo EARTHGANG; and UK singer/songwriter John Newman. Sitting pretty amongst the tracks, is Bklava’s June 2020-released single, ‘Thinkin’ of You’, a rich, club-ready and bouncy garage number that, to yours truly at least, stands among her best work, a refined take on the garage that exploded onto the Uk scene way back when.While having a track in a video game might not rank up there for milestones an artist might look to achieve, FIFA is the highest-selling sports video game franchise in history, selling over 325 million copies - so this is kind-of a big deal.
Photo credit: Vicky Grout
