There is something unsettling about being surrounded by people, notifications and endless streams of information while still feeling completely alone. London avant pop artist, composer, vocalist and producer Lolli Wren explores that contradiction on her latest single, “are we alright?”, a dark and cinematic piece that looks directly at the emotional weight of modern life.
The song grows from a simple but increasingly difficult question. In a world shaped by doomscrolling, urban isolation and the constant pressure to keep up, are we actually alright?
Lolli does not attempt to provide an easy answer. Instead, “are we alright?” feels like an act of reaching out. The song was born from her own experience of witnessing the existential dread affecting so many people, particularly those caught in the endless cycle of consuming bad news and trying to remain connected in an increasingly disconnected world.
“I was feeling so heavy witnessing the ubiquitous existential dread of so many of us being trapped in a cycle of doomscrolling and urban isolation,” Lolli explains. For her, the song became a way of reaching people who might be experiencing the same thing and reminding them that they are not alone.
The influence of the 1988 cult science fiction film They Live adds another layer to the track. Its vision of a hidden dystopia feeds into the world Lolli creates through her music, where sound, character, storytelling and visual ideas often exist as parts of the same larger picture.
Musically, “are we alright?” sits comfortably within Lolli’s experimental approach. Avant pop, progressive pop and art pop come together with a strong cinematic quality, creating a space that feels both intimate and unsettling. At the centre is Lolli’s extraordinary voice.
Known for a vocal range spanning more than four octaves, she treats her voice as far more than a traditional lead instrument. Distortion, vocal agility, layered harmonies and intricate arrangements become part of the storytelling. Every backing vocal on the single was written and performed by Lolli, giving the track a deeply personal vocal identity.
Eduardo Moreira produced the song and handled the majority of its instrumentation, while Barry O’Connell took care of mixing and mastering.
Lolli’s ability to build entire worlds through her voice has already earned her an international audience. In 2021, she gained widespread attention through her work as a vocal scientist, breaking down and recreating the techniques used by hundreds of well known artists through her “Fairy Voice Mother” persona. Her YouTube channel has grown to more than 375,000 subscribers and 51 million views, with artists including Shakira and Ren sharing her work.
But Lolli is equally committed to her own music. Her debut album, To Build A Sea, arrived in November 2024 and has now passed 500,000 Spotify streams. Its character driven videos and conceptual storytelling have helped build a dedicated audience around her artistic world.
Influenced by artists such as Björk, Stromae, Queen, Sleep Token, Kate Bush and Jeff Buckley, Lolli brings together operatic and choral ideas with experimental pop and progressive songwriting. She often performs multiple vocal parts herself, creating arrangements that can feel closer to a cast of characters than a conventional solo performance.
“are we alright?” takes that approach into darker emotional territory. It captures the strange reality of contemporary life, where technology can make communication instant while leaving people feeling more isolated than ever.
The question is small. The anxiety behind it is much bigger. And Lolli Wren turns that anxiety into something listeners can hear, feel and perhaps recognise in themselves.
About Lolli Wren
Lolli Wren is a London-based artist, composer, vocalist and producer working across avant-pop, experimental pop, progressive pop and art pop. Known for her extraordinary vocal range, cinematic storytelling and genre-defying approach to music, Lolli combines intricate vocal arrangements with ambitious conceptual worlds.
Her work as “The Fairy Voice Mother” has earned her a global audience of more than 375,000 YouTube subscribers and 51 million views. Her debut album To Build A Sea was released in November 2024.
Lolli lives between London, Porto and Edinburgh and speaks Portuguese fluently.
