KINGH and Shy FX release ‘Dare To Dream’ via Digital Soundboy, the title track of KINGH’s six-track debut EP arriving June 26, 2026
KINGH and Shy FX released “DARE TO DREAM“ on June 23, 2026, via Digital Soundboy, Shy FX’s long-running independent imprint, and the track arrives as the opening statement of KINGH’s six-track debut EP of the same name, due June 26. It is a purposeful choice of opener. “DARE TO DREAM” sets the EP’s emotional and sonic framework from its first seconds: lush retro-inspired production underneath a vocal performance that has somewhere specific to be and gets there without rushing.
KINGH was raised between Lake Como and Milan before relocating to London, and that combination of Italian aesthetics and British club culture informs the track in ways that are audible without being explained. The influences are the other half of the picture: Erykah Badu’s experimental neo-soul, Funkadelic’s psychedelic funk, and Lenny Kravitz’s genre-blurring rock and soul crossover. That is a specific and considered set of touchstones, and “DARE TO DREAM” earns the comparison. The track does not borrow from those artists. It has absorbed them and produced something that sounds genuinely its own.
What Shy FX Brought to the Production
Shy FX’s role in the project is not incidental. The UK drum and bass legend and Digital Soundboy founder has spent three decades operating across jungle, drum and bass, grime, and UK funky with a consistent instinct for what makes a track move. His approach on “DARE TO DREAM” is notably restrained given that history, prioritizing space and feel over density. “My approach with ‘DARE TO DREAM’ was to create something that felt uplifting and expansive while still carrying weight and soul,” he says. The hard-hitting drums he built into the track’s foundation do exactly that: they give the song physical momentum without overtaking the vocal that is doing all the emotional work.
The retro-inspired groove Shy FX constructed around KINGH’s performance sits in a specific and increasingly valuable lane. Neo-soul and funk production has been enjoying a genuine critical and commercial resurgence, driven by artists like Lucky Daye, Cleo Sol, and Little Simz, all of whom have demonstrated that audiences in 2026 are willing to sit with music that takes its time and trusts the warmth of its arrangements. “DARE TO DREAM” fits directly into that moment while owing its allegiances to earlier traditions.
The EP and What KINGH Is Actually Saying
The lyrical ambition behind the track is not abstract. “DARE TO DREAM” is about vision, ambition, courage, and giving yourself permission to want more,” KINGH explains. “It represents confidence, faith, and mindset. Sometimes the hardest thing is allowing yourself to believe what is possible. This song is about stepping into that belief. I want people to hear it and feel uplifted, like they’ve been reminded to think bigger, dream boldly, and move towards what they truly want.”
That statement of intent is matched by the performance. KINGH’s silky and controlled vocals carry the expressiveness dialed to exactly the level the production requires: enough warmth to make the aspirational message feel sincere, enough technical control to keep it from slipping into sentimentality. The chorus is the track’s emotional anchor, a memorable melodic hook that lands with the kind of immediacy that aspirational soul music has always required. The full six-track Dare to Dream EP arrives June 26, produced entirely by Shy FX, and positions KINGH as one of the more genuinely distinctive new voices in UK soul and alternative R&B.
