Alice Rowe is the up-and-coming singer and songwriter from Hastings (UK) who is making her long awaited return following a brief hiatus brought about by the covid-19 pandemic with the breezy new single ‘As It Seems’.
The track heavily explores elements of jazz and old school hip hop, inspiration of this can be taken from the likes of Ari Lennox, Loyle Carner and J Cole and Jorja Smith. As such, it’s a song flush with smooth melodies, vibey horn section, uptempo R&B beats and Rowe’s soulful voice, but for all of the surface level peace, there’s an undercurrent of uncertainty brought about by the confusing world we all inhabit.
Here, the British songwriter takes us into further detail about the meaning behind ‘As It Seems’:
“I wrote this track after attending an art exhibition in London ‘Alice in Wonderland – Curious & Curiouser’, the concept was about a girl who struggled to survive the confusing world of adults, she also struggled to come to terms with life and learnt that there are many layers/ mysteries. It is thought that Alice and several other characters secretly suffer from mental health issues which helped me to come up with the lyric ‘behind closed doors you can’t see, nothing is ever as it seems’, this is a metaphor for the many doors Alice opens in Wonderland and also for real life where you never know what’s truly going on. After attending the exhibition I felt that the concept fit with my current thoughts at the time and it felt right that I explore that. I then created the project. The art work is also inspired by one of the pieces of art in the gallery which I have in my home studio. This track is really exciting for me as I feel like this is where I found my sound.”
Any prior listener of Alice Rowe’s will notice her development from edgy pop with a soul overtone into this new realm of jazz and hip-hop inspired soulful R&B, which the young artist promises plenty more of in the coming year. Not only is ‘As It Seems’ a great standalone single, but it’s also part of Rowe’s bigger project, titled Nothing is Ever As It Seems.
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