As the year comes to a close, Georgi Kay has proven that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that is 2020, sharing her new single “Medicine”, a blissful fusion of bluesy soul and electronic instrumentation.
Arriving two years on from her last studio album, and months on from the release of “Gasoline” and her Reimagined EP, “Medicine” is something of an all-Australian collaboration for the Los Angeles-based artist.
Working with producer Andrew Furze (Ladyhood, Ari’elle, Reece Mastin, The X Factor Australia, Dancing With The Stars Australia) and mixing engineer Andy Baldwin (Björk, Elle King, Haerts, St. Lucia, Car Seat Headrest), the result is a dizzyingly immersive four-minute cut which sees Kay’s emotive vocals taking pride of place, while a luscious collection of predominantly electronic instruments give the track an almost otherworldly feel.
Paired by a video directed by Mixed Media, the clip sees a vulnerable Kay atop a mortuary tray before being attended to by a masked figure, leaving her underwater, and providing an almost visceral feeling of fear and loss of control.
“‘Medicine’ is all about heartbreak and disappointment – both on a personal, societal, political and environmental scale,” Kay explains of the track and its video. “So, the idea behind the music video was to focus on and pay particular attention to the symbolism of that pain, hurt and struggle we find ourselves in after being let down by someone (or something) we love and look up to.
“That’s where the heavy use of water comes in. Between scenes of waterboarding and unwilling injection by an ominous figure (toxic relationships) and drowned out screams and submerged struggles beneath the water’s surface (personal and global struggles), we get this strong sense of deep, emotional turmoil and ultimately a lack of control and stability.
“We are being forced to adapt at lightning speed during a time where our world shifts and changes so unpredictably and so rapidly, to the point where the remnants of our personal and global insecurities and struggles are constantly playing ‘catch up’. That residue builds up and often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and disassociated – numb.
“When we are taught and encouraged to look up to or love another to the point of dependency, we tend to weaken ourselves and forget our true strengths and purpose. Evolution can be a slow and painful process, yet as with all double-edged swords, there is a light at the end of the darkened tunnel – the willingness to grow, understand, empathise and belong, and the want to survive.”
While the single itself is a truly immersive piece of music that serves as a highlight to Kay’s already-storied career, its pairing with the moving, and at times unsettling, music video brings it to another level, and proves her worth as one of the most inventive and mesmerising artists on the scene today.
Georgi Kay’s “Medicine” will be officially released on Friday, November 13th.
