North Londoner Natalie Shay‘s been putting in work. Perhaps too much – in a way, that’s what her new single’s about. More specifically, a painful friendship breakdown inspired ‘The Edge’, her first new track of 2023 and the successor of her second EP Milk, which landed in September. It arrived last week along with b-side and companion piece ‘everything’s been happening’
On the story behind the song, Shay has no problem admitting her faults. “A lot of my mental health, personality and entire identity are completely wrapped up in my work. This is the same for a lot of creatives and people with a dream or goal from a young age in general. On realising that these goals may not happen the way you’d always planned, or realising things are going to be much harder than you ever expected, this can cause trouble for some people who lack the courage. I think me and my friend are guilty of this, and subsequently this triggered the downfall.”
We’re premiering the cinematic video for the song, out today and directed by Eleanor Grace Hann: “It’s our first time working together on a music video. I had made the concept for the video myself. I wanted the video to be quite literal, i.e. actually dancing on an edge of a cliff with a ‘friend’. It was mostly shot at Beachy Head (in the UK), in one day, (a very cold day). It shows the emotional tail end of a friendship breaking down and the comparison to how far it had fallen. My main reference and inspiration for this video was the movie ‘Thirteen,’ one of my favourite movies of all time since I was about 13 myself. It’s a movie about two troubled girls forming an inseparable bond and friendship only for it to go sour and destroy them both.”
Check it out below along with ‘everything’s been happening’, and keep your eyes peeled for more new music on the way soon; London readers should catch her at Omeara on Friday March 3rd.
