You have to be brave to release a single called ‘Faded’ in Scandinavia. Alan Walker’s celebrated electro house song of the same title has racked up two and a half billion plays on Spotify alone, which must have earned him a few quid at least.
Irene Serra, known as ISQ, comes from a different background altogether. Born in Italy, but moving to Denmark at three years of age, Irene has spent the last two decades earning a devoted following in the jazz world.
In preparation for the release of her fifth album, ‘The silence is deafening’ this October she performs here her own song called ‘Faded’ and it is said to be a considerable shift in sound from previous work.
In particular there is, how can I put it, a distracted jazz aspect to it in my view, compensated by a soft pop/rock element, even fringe trip hop, which with her laid back yet soulful vocal collectively conjure up an intimate, warm fuzzy feeling.
That actually stands at odds with the meaning behind the song which is one of losing and then rediscovering yourself within a controlling relationship.
The ‘faded’ here refers to the disappearing tan on her skin after the light of a relationship began to diminish.
But I find it hard to perceive a happy ending to the story from the closing lyrics,
“And up and up we go, and up and up we go
All the times that you held me, pretended to care
But there’ll be no more, no more.”
That sounds like resignation to me rather than rediscovery. But perhaps I got the wrong end of the stick.
You might take a different view. It’s the sort of song that invites close examination.
She’s spent eight years away and this comeback will be anticipated by many. The album is a record preoccupied with women’s lives; the ones lived loudly and the ones lived in careful silence and is presented as a tribute to her mother’s resilience and to the countless women whose stories echo her own.
The album is released on 23rd October and is complemented by three live UK dates in October and November. See social media pages for details.
The current band line-up is Richard Sadler (bass), Chris Nickolls (drums/electronics) and Luca Boscagin (guitar).
Find her on:
Website: https://www.isqmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isqmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isqmusic
