Backseat Mafia is very proud to premiere the single ‘The Empress’ from Australian artist Alyrah, as well as her forthcoming EP ‘Twin Flame Portal’, due out on 28 February 2020.
Hailing from Sydney, Alyrah is an indie-electronic artist and producer with, based on this release, an enormous amount of talent and a very distinct and unique sound. She has captured an element of Kate Bush in her expressive creativity – strong praise indeed but very much backed up by the quality of ‘Twin Flame Portal’.
Single ‘The Empress’ is filled with luscious layers of instrumentation and Alyrah’s soaring vocals – a sound that distantly hints of her Lebanese father’s Arabic music background with a Middle Eastern timbre, yet is also founded deeply in a dream pop haze. There are shimmering layers underpinned by a rhythmic pattern that evokes middle eastern percussion.
The song is the final part of a series of songs on the EP devoted to the themes of love, loss and surrender. There is an unbridled verve, a sense of abandonment and melancholy draped in a driving synth pop cloak. Accessible yet innovative: a freshly and distinctive new sound. Alyrah’s voice, for example, has a haunting feel in opening track ‘Twin Flame’ – layers and layers in a choral sweep.
‘Emerald’ has a pop disco back-beat and a very eighties synth vibe but again it is Alyrah’s voice that adds a distinctive and ethereal sheen to an EP that defies genres and sets out its own marker. In essence, ‘Twin Flame Portal’ is a wonderful fusion – a mixture of middle eastern elements with dream pop textures and a wild danceability.
The high production values shine throughout ‘Twin Flame Portal’, and this is an impressive release that portends a very bright future ahead. It is a breath of fresh air standing out in a very crowded field.
The EP is available from 28 February 2020 through the usual download/steaming sites.
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