Raye says her new single is “as raw as I could find myself to be.”
The ‘Ice Cream Man’ singer has shared the “deeply personal” seven-minute-long tune, ‘Genesis’, which she describes as “a prayer and a plea and a cry for help” in troubled times.
In a statement, she said: “There is a Nina Simone quote, ‘It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times.’ This quote is everything to me and I believe the best way I can try to do this is through my art and my music.
“There is so much darkness and pain in this world we live in, and I wanted to create something both as deeply personal and as raw as I could find myself to be about my own mind and the world I see around me.”
She added: “The song is a seven-minute piece that I have crafted and scrutinised over the last year and a half, experimenting with different genres and sonic expressions, beneath all the layers and the lyrics, the underlying message is ‘Let There Be Light’.
“It is a prayer and a plea and a cry for help, and I really hope this song will be able to bring some hope, the way this music does for me, to those who need it most.”
She sings: “They say the twenties are the best years of your life.
But I seem to be spending mine missing sunsets.
‘Cause I’m busy on my phone observing everyone else.
How I compare and obsess
Just me, my phone, and these walls.”
Some of the self-deprecating lyrics include: “And I’ve been sober for some months
But I can feel the demons waiting on my downfall.
Since I’m so ugly and irrelevant.”
‘Genesis’ is Raye’s first release since her breakthrough album, ‘My 21st Century Blues’.