British songwriter and composer Laura Mvula has released a new single titled “Safe Passage” via Atlantic Records. The single follows the February release of Mvula’s most recent EP, 1/f, an ‘80s-inspired reimagining of some of the artist’s hit songs, as well as her 2016 LP The Dreaming Room, which included fan-favorites like her track with Nile Rodgers, “Overcome.”
The music video for “Safe Passage” is taken from her Under A Pink Moon livestream performance that took place on February 24, 2021. The live performance was the artist’s first in over three years since Bestival 2017, and shows version of Mvula that The i describes as “rejuvenated and ready to take on the pop world.”
Mvula reveals that “Writing the song was a struggle because I had to really dig for it. But as it revealed itself to me, it struck me down like lightning on the Damascus Road, and I was grateful for it. I was so scared of letting myself down. And I was so exhausted of caring only about pleasing people and things around me. And I wanted and needed release from that. That’s what ‘Safe Passage’ is.
Watch the video for “Safe Passage” here:
The dynamic track leads with demanding bass and powerful vocals before transcendent synths come in to decorate the song about leaving a person behind and realizing that “I’m everything I need.” Vibrant lyrics like “never imagined I would ever be free / from your story” and “I was awake in my dream” evoke feelings of restored energy, optimism and strength.
Experimenting with rhythm and dynamics throughout, the song’s euphoric and playful sound complement the empowering lyrics beautifully. The video showcases the artist performing the new song, enjoying herself and truly appearing “rejuvenated.”
Mvula describes her newest song as “a poem about the vehicle that takes us all from the space where we feel like we’re drowning, and we’re trapped to the promised land, which actually exists. It’s not a dream, it’s not a fictional place. We can go there. We can go there like right now. We just have to tap into ourselves to our love relationships. ‘Safe Passage’ evokes that feeling in me. It reminds me of a time when feeling positive emotions was much simpler, much less complicated.”
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