“This song is about identity, overthinking, and wondering if what you do actually matters. It was almost impossible to write… snapped a lot of pencils.” That’s Iona Luke speaking on her new single “Existential,” a rousing twirl of panoramic alt-pop that acts as a reflective portal back into our souls. We’re all feeling increasingly disenfranchised these days, and the emerging British artist has woven a theatrical mood where the only thing louder than the noise suffocating our headspace is the quiet that comes before and after. Luke utilizes the loud/quiet dynamic to great effect here, and awards us a proper soundtrack to confront the spiraling thoughts that come with identity, self-doubt, and creative pressure. “In a madly oversaturated music space, figuring out where you stand and what you have to say is scary stuff,” she adds. “When I had to decide whether I’d be ‘Iona’ or ‘Iona Luke,’ I repeated my name in my head too many times and had the mini existential collapse we all get when a word suddenly looks a bit funny.” Dip into the abyss below..
***