Creating a journey through sounds and words is at the center of Evie Asio’s musical world. In the same way that every good story cannot be fully digested in one read, she draws on decades of genres and artistic influences to evoke something that is multi-layered and complex in feeling.
Evie Asio will release her alternative soul and jazz track ‘Love is Low’ on November 18, 2022 along with her brand-new album, Contending and Contention. The lead single ‘Love is Low’ is a reflection of what she wanted the accompanying album to be.
On first listen, it’s a summery vibe with an attractive production of live drums, bass, electronic keyboards, guitar, synths, and lots of layered vocals. The instrumentation draws inspiration from legends like Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder, and she wanted to stay true to that live band feel. However, the synths and effects reflect something by Tom Misch or Hiatus Kaiyote. The song has a darkness that isn’t quite reflected in the lyrics.
It’s a love song about a bad relationship, and she wrote it at one of her lowest points. As hopeful as the lyrics seem to be, hindsight allowed her to add in these surrealist elements that hint to the song’s escapist reality. She has never taken drugs, but when she produced ‘Love is Low’, she thought about what it must be like to enjoy something in the moment that is lowkey destroying you. That is what the song is about, and it truly showcases Evie Asio’s musical abilities.
Evie Asio comments on the track, “‘Love is Low’ is inspired by live soul and surrealism. The lyrics of the song talk about the resilience of love, while the music points towards how this can easily reflect a dreamlike naivety.”
Contending & Contention is a nine-track concept album about her personal journey with identity, faith, and relationships. She calls the album ‘the work of my twenties, as the songs were written between 2017 and 2019, and created between 2019 and 2022, in one of the most defining periods of her life.
Each song tells a different story, but the thing that ties them all together is Evie Asio; her behavior, strengths, and toxic traits all lead to it being this greater picture of her overcoming herself. She spent four years producing the album across five studios and her bedroom. She worked with a range of studio musicians and her co-producer Mikaiyiri, to create a different sonic world for each song that crosses analogue and digital sounds. For this reason, it is a love letter to all of the musical genres Evie Asio grew up with and has been inspired by.
Track List
Introduction: Contending and Contention
In the Middle
Available
From Here
Pendulum
Love is Low
Turning Time
Heaven Minded
Imperfect People
About Evie Asio
Evie Asio grew up in South-East London, where she used the range of musical styles around her to begin writing songs. After graduating with a BA in music, she began her musical career through releasing a series of experimental projects, including her Conclusion EP (2015 via SoundCloud), and her Songs From Home YouTube series. She has notably performed at venues such as The Spice of Life, Proud Camden, and the O2 Academy.
