Brand new EP from Sylva Faye

Hailing from London, Sylva Faye has spent the last decade making an impact as both a talented session musician and independent artist, working in the space between folk, indie and rock styles. A singer-songwriter and session flautist, she writes and records ambient folk songs while also performing live with her band across London when she’s not touring on flute. Her music draws from a wide array of genres, bringing indie, rock, folk, fusion and singer-songwriter stylings together into a hybrid ambient-ethereal sound unlike any other.

That versatility has become central to Sylva’s artistic identity and her work has attracted attention from BBC Introducing, Tom Robinson’s BBC6 Mixtape, Record Rewind Play, Beehive Candy, For The Rabbits, The Evening Standard, Faded Glamour, Music Unmasked, Secret Delivery, Don’t Need No Melody, Demon FM, K2K Radio and the Hype Machine, among others. Her live history includes performances at venues and events such as O2 Academy Islington, Sidmouth Fringe, Blues Kitchen, Good Life Festival, George Tavern, The Finsbury, Sister Midnight Records and Finborough Arms.

Sylva first introduced her solo sonic vision back in 2016 with her debut release, Blythe and since then, she’s delivered an extensive catalogue spanning singles and EPs before arriving at her first full-length record, The Space Before Sleep, in 2023. Across those releases, her music has continued to land in a space where atmosphere and songwriting gently coalesce, with her folk origins providing a starting point for wider experimentation.

Now, with CRACKED, Sylva Faye takes that experimentation further with her ninth EP arriving as the result of a year spent collating feelings surrounding freedom, justice, truth and time, penned while she was grappling with oppression, being silenced and injustice. The project also carries a profoundly personal sense of release; a malicious lie told about her was proven wrong just as the EP was released, transforming the record into an expression of freedom in more ways than one.

That freedom extends into the music itself, with Sylva using CRACKED as an opportunity to move between genres according to what each moment demands. The EP begins as a hyperpop experiment before moving through alternative pop and eventually arriving at the traditional folk pop style for which she’s become known. Across the EP, Sylva plays multiple instruments, joined by cellist Dave Dhonau and producer Aaron Hira of Clarence Street Studios.

Opened by the breezy blend of plucked acoustic guitar notes and smooth vocal leads on “WRAITHSONG,” a dreamy arrangement of chiming notes and soft melodies glides with lilting rhythmic sway, offering a memorable and highly original outing. “Free (P34CH20)” follows with alluring vocalisations and pulsing synth notes as Sylva’s fluttering vocals float above the minimal hyperpop backdrop, casting an intoxicating soundscape from start to finish.

The lead single and title track “Cracked” recounts an adventure in the Caribbean that revolves around a dark tale wrapped up in an engaging alternative pop fabric where expressive vocals flow above a delicate piano backdrop. “Blooms” then takes the release back towards Sylva’s intricate folk pop sound with an intimate song that glows with hushed vocals, soft instrumental tones and steady rhythmic energy, casting an enchanting musical moment that’s impossible not to love.

Memory and time also sit at the centre of the project, with Sylva exploring how non-linear time has become through her own experiences. Beauty and rage exist side by side, alongside the pain of losing her mother while images of birds in cages and chanting masses become part of a wider emotional landscape containing everything she loves and hates.

The sense of loss gives the project another layer of meaning, with Sylva having lost several people she loved over the past few years and she dedicates the work to them. That feeling comes into particular focus on the closing track, “Low Hanging Fruit (LHF)”, which is specifically connected to those losses captured in a graceful indie folk outing formed with gentle acoustic guitar, strings and soft vocals carrying emotive lyricism.

Listen to CRACKED below