After earning high profile support from the likes of
Abbie McCarthy,
CLOUT and
Amazing Radio in the first stage of her career,
Jewelia is now emerging with a grander artistic ambition as she builds towards the
April 19th release of her second album
‘Little Wins’ via
Pretty Decent Music. She now fires into
2024 by unveiling
‘Invisible Wall’, the latest single to preview the record. Listen
HERE. Watch the official video
HERE.‘Invisible Wall’ sees Jewelia whipping up an alchemist’s pot of sonic influences, bringing together nostalgic ‘80s synth-pop, throwback ‘90s elements and the conversational lyricism of the early 2000s indie-pop crossover scene. But while those reference points beam large throughout the track, they’re wielded with playful disdain for simple categorisation, instead achieving a future/retro hybrid of sparkling and quirky alt-pop that will speak to fans of Caroline Polachek, Goldfrapp or Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Jewelia’s vocal also possesses an alluring appeal as it seemingly effortlessly switches between almost spoken word poetry and powerful, hyper-expressive delivery.
Jewelia says, “I’ve always wanted to dig deeper into a retro pop sound and imagery. I actually wrote ‘Invisible Wall’ back in 2017, and it stayed in the vault up until last year, when I realised that it fitted perfectly within the concept of my new album. In video games, an invisible wall is a boundary that limits where the player can go, even though there’s nothing physically there to stop them. It seems like the perfect analogy for the pre-guided life pathways that society tends to force us into, but also for self-limiting thought patterns, both of which are driving ideas behind the concept of ‘Little Wins’.”
That idea resonates with feelgood fervour throughout the twelve tracks that feature on the ‘Little Wins’ album. Whether through aspirational social media posts or the latest hit drama series, society pushes the message that we can achieve whatever we want, if only we believe enough and work hard and hustle and grind. Yet we all have limitations that restrict our ability to make those things happen and they’re certainly not indicative of any personal failings. Ultimately those ambitions might not be entirely fulfilled, but what we achieve on the way – and often in the face of immensely challenging situations – is well worth celebrating.
She adds, “The binding concept behind ‘Little Wins’ is that we all do the best we can at a particular moment in time, with the resources we have at that moment. Those resources can mean anything: time, energy, knowledge, confidence, money, love, other people, self-belief, self-love. So really, there’s no point in beating ourselves up, and instead of constantly focusing on the climb ahead, we should take some time to look back and see how far we’ve come, and learn to celebrate the little wins.”
The album represents the latest landmark on Jewelia’s own lifelong adventure in music, a journey which has been one of steady growth rather than a once-in-a-lifetime moment of discovery. Raised in Romania, Jewelia – then simply Iulia Tache – wanted to be a musician from early childhood, but as she hit her teens her life was pulling in two different directions: she was studying law at the same time that she was attending Bucharest’s Music Conservatoire. In retrospect there was only ever going to be one winner, leading Jewelia to relocate to London to pursue her dream of becoming an artist. Between her debut album, ‘City of My Mind’, and subsequent singles such as ‘No Lover (A Million One)’ and ‘Was It You Or Was It Me’, her eclectic approach to pop styles engaged her first fanbase and inspired comparisons ranging from Kate Bush to MARINA.
‘Little Wins’ elevates her to the next level, with a set entirely and solely written by Jewelia who also produced every track on the album – some in collaboration with Andy Denyer. The album was predominantly mixed by Mario Borgatta (Foster The People, Mallrat) and Niko Battistini (Charlie XCX, Caroline Polachek). Jewelia generated interest in the record with the help of the single ‘Second Best’, which was highlighted as Abbie McCarthy’s Recommendation of the Week, while last summer’s Kickstarter campaign to help fund the album received over £8000 worth of support.
‘Little Wins’ is now available to pre-order or pre-save HERE.
‘Little Wins’ tracklist:
