Shay Lia - SOLO (Single)
Following her energetic return earlier this year with single ‘TAKUTÀ’, French-Djiboutian creative artist Shay Lia reveals her alluring new release ‘SOLO’, a hybrid Reggae-R&B offering available now.
Awash with reggae-style guitar licks and dubby bassline, ‘SOLO’ transports the listener to sunnier climates. Its relaxed, laid back vibe contrasts from the emphatic nature of Shay’s last single ‘TAKUTÀ’, making space for Shay to tap into a distant but defiant tone vocally as she withdraws from a relationship: “Cause I don’t speak your love / It feels so watered down”. Trumpet stabs and dub-like echoes on the drums compliment the tune’s dulcet style, creating the perfect musical bed for Shay Lia’s velvety tones to glide across the beat.
Shay Lia touches on the joys of going solo, the associated freedoms, and the healing that took place following the end of a relationship. The optimistic perspective Shay offers parallels the cheerful tones of the track itself, making for a sweet, feel-good piece of dub meets R&B.
‘SOLO’ marks the second tune of Shay’s redefining comeback, having stunned audiences far and wide with March’s percussive dance track ‘TAKUTÀ’, produced by Colombian hitmaker Andrés Rebellón. ‘TAKUTÀ’ has garnered support from the likes of Clara Amfo, Jack Saunders and Jeremiah Asiamahat BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra as well as receiving plays from Rinse FM and Reprezent FM.
Both tracks are symbolic of Shay’s new phase as an artist - strong, free and inspired, whilst eager to stretch musical boundaries in order to realise her creative vision.
Speaking on SOLO, Shay Lia say’s: SOLO is a song I wrote to celebrate my growth and reclamation - confident vocals mixed with the energy of freedom, wrapped in the warmth and the strength of reggae-RnB production by Andrés Rebellón. I wanted to release a song that feels timeless and easy for the summer. I needed to write about a failed situationship where I had felt inconsistency and a lack of effort from my love interest. I had overcome a lot and done so much work to heal prior to meeting him - and I ended up feeling like this new found self love and self awareness was too precious to be wasted on something inconsistent. I decided to move forward on my own in full confidence, solo and free. I felt much lighter after making this decision and that’s why the song feels like a warm classic - it’s meant to relay the softness of my confidence.