Each week, we select one artist to feature as our Spotlight Artist. This week, we’ve chosen AEORA. For more Spotlight Artists, head here.
Over the last couple of years, Melbourne-based electro-pop goddess AEORA has made a name for herself with powerful, experimental tracks like 'Boss-y' and 'Fenceline'. Her latest release, 'Need You', goes even deeper into that vast well of emotion, channeling her evocative voice into a tale of destruction and redemption.
'Need You' was co-written with LANKS and produced by Haxx, and both the lyrics and production are sophisticated and unexpected. It opens with echoey synths, but soon the thudding bass hits like a heartbeat. "Could you really love me, is it easy for you?" her voice asks plaintively. "I was hesitating, I didn't want to lose myself in you."
But in the chorus, Aeora gains control of the swirling mess of emotions, telling herself "It's OK to need you too." The simultaneous uncertainty and strength of 'Need You' is the key to its authenticity, reflecting the constant conflict between independence and intimacy in romantic relationships.
According to Aeora, 'Need You' is a song about "reflecting on a relationship – the doubts, the love and the pain. It’s about reflecting upon my own idea of being independent and still needing someone else, and telling myself that it’s okay." The subject matter and atmosphere of the track play off each other symbiotically, as LANKS adds, "Her voice is so emotional and evocative, and as the song developed her voice continues to be such a powerful anchoring point that the rest of the production so perfectly sits around."
With 'Need You', Aeora continues to push and blur the boundaries. She tests the limits of her vulnerability and finds strength, experiments with sounds and layers and finds simplicity. And best of all, it sounds like nothing else.
Photograph by Michelle He
Words by Molly McLaughlin
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