LVRA today shares her first new track of 2021 with ‘DEAD’. The track elevates her creative impulses to new heights, again reflecting her background with a cocktail of resplendent alt-pop synths and thumping bass, mixed with sounds that are inspired by traditional instruments such as the bianzhong and the xiao. Yet there’s no outshining LVRA’s voice, which switches at will from a luscious, soulful sigh into the vehement declaration: “If I don’t like what he said, off with his head: DEAD.”

The track’s accompanying video reveals new depths to her creative vision. It captures many elements of both the artist and the song, with striking East-meets-West styling and the emotional contrasts of vulnerability and supreme self-confidence.

“There’s a unique power you gain when you stop caring about what people think of you,” says LVRA. “It’s an ongoing battle, though, and ‘DEAD’ is about the conflict between the fantasy of not caring and how you feel in reality. The video captures that, with a version of myself who has her shit together and another that is fighting to survive.The use of red represents fear in the human condition, but in Chinese culture it also symbolises happiness. One rarely comes without the other.”

‘DEAD’ was written and produced by LVRA, with mixing courtesy of Brendan Cox (Jadu Heart, Hannah Diamond, Imogen Heap). The video was directed by Oscar McNab (Lacuna Common, Oscar Lang).

LVRA (pronounced loo-rah, real name Rachel Lu) is based in Edinburgh. She followed the release of her debut EP by playing a virtual celebration of Truck Festival for BBC Music Introducing in Oxfordshire. She also collaborated with Melbourne experimentalist Peach Body on his track ‘Youth’.