Life always feels tumultuous and turbulent when you’re young. You think everything that has happened to you, has only happened to you, and because you’re so close to it, you’re right in the middle of the storm, it’s hard sometimes to gain clarity or distance over the events that happen in your life.
And that’s what Skye Newman admirably wrestles with in her EP, SE9 Part 1, named after the postcode of her childhood home in South East London.
The opening track, ‘FU & UF’ was first teased and then performed at her sold-out shows at KOKO London earlier this year, which was also the first time she performed there. Videos on social media platform TikTok in the balcony amongst her fans as if she wasn’t the headliner, and had simply gone to enjoy her favourite artist with her friends.
The sound of a metronome throughout the stripped-out production keeps us locked in before the visceral and expressive voice of Skye sets us off on this six-track journey.
Like much of the project, she is heated, as she shares a tale of being a victim of unreplicated effort from her partner, and explores gender politics.
Speaking about the track, she said: “I put FU & UF first because it’s good to remind whoever’s listening to be strong and to stand your ground,” says Skye. “My main message is don’t change who you are for anyone. Be true to yourself. It took me a while to realise this, but I am now living for me. And that’s the most important kind of living!”
The accompanying visual, directed by Rohan Dill, documents Skye and her friends, all females, reclaiming traditionally male-dominated and masculine spaces such as football pitches and boxing rings to showcase the importance of representation and the power of feminine energy.
Skye believes that kindness kills. The second track of the EP, Hairdresser, soulfully explores the transactional nature of relationships through a dual lens. The frustrated girlfriend vents about her man to the hairdresser, who in turn questions the validity of the friendship.
Skye sings, “Baby girl, are you listening? (Yeah) / There you go, got me questioning / If I was low, would you call me then? /If you got a man, would we still be friends?”
Combining electronic elements such as synths with upbeat drums, ‘My Addiction’ has a more alternative psychedelic influence as she likens love and desire to addiction that she cannot seem to or wants to shake.
The South Londoner longs to return to better memories on ‘Out Out’ – gentle piano chords help to provide the only quiet moment in the project. It shows Skye demonstrating introspection without losing the edge in her voice. She laments for more care, consideration and appreciation in the face of an unhappy relationship.
On ‘Family Matters’, the opening line is “You’ve never worn these shoes/Don’t mean my new balance in blue/Raised on pure dysfunction, But sleep I’ll never lose”, is delivered with a raw honesty as she shares her perspective on her family, and embraces how adversity has shaped her.
Closing out with Smoke Rings, Skye shows she has one of the most compelling voices as she goes back to basics with a minimalistic piano instrumentation, favouring an intimate soundscape, in which her smooth voice adopts a more languid style than what we have heard so far. She does keep the power.
It’s a fitting end, cinematic even. Yearning and longing, the fire that we encountered at the start has been turned down to a simmer. It’s warm enough to be comforting, but there is an undeniable sadness in Skye’s voice as she sings about regret and heartbreak. Sometimes you only know you're past the storm until the smoke clears.
This summer just gone, Skye Newman has performed at the BBC Introducing stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Liverpool, sang alongside Ed Sheeran with ain Ipswich and supported Lewis Capaldi’s UK tour. She has also had her own headline shows at Manchester’s O2 Ritz and London’s KOKO sold out.
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