It’s seems like quite a while since we’ve had any recorded output from Manchester’s electronic experimentalist I Am Fya. Well over a year ago she delivered The Sun Will Kill Me, a breezy, warm hearted slice of electro-pop which echoed with a trip-hop undercurrent. Framed by I Am Fya’s prolonged stay in Barbados with her unwell parents during Covid times, there were murmurings that the song and its video were part of a much larger project that this dynamic artist was working on.
I Am Fya live shows since then have played out as part of the reveal, showing an emerging tapestry of taped conversations, field recordings and rootsy percussive frequencies developing in form and intention. Now comes news that this ambitious audio- visual work called ‘Homeland’ has been completed and will be released as an album via Rose Hill Records on 16th May (see a preview HERE )
To fill the void until the big day we’ve already been given a snippet of what to expect from ‘Homeland’ with the beat powered, soulful proclamations of When The Rain Fall/ The Last Time I Saw You and in hot pursuit there’s a second taster. The starkly thrilling i2i shows I Am Fya’s sound pared back to pounding minimal rhythms, synth drones and an eerie vocal swirl. This glitchy, complex, angular drum and bass, abstracted I Am Fya style, sounds the alert that plenty more boundaries will be pushed when the full sweep of ‘Homeland’ hits.
i2i is streaming in all the usual places and there’s a final preview single, 2nd Home, coming on 24th April before ‘Homeland’ is released in full.
Pre-order ‘Homeland’ by I Am Fya from Rose Hill Records HERE
