Lydia Persaud (Per-sAHd) recently released her album Moody31, now available via Next Door Records. “Saying I love you for the first time, vulnerability within certainty,” says Persaud. “Sometimes you can’t hold it in any longer as it would be a disservice to the experience being shared. This song came as an unintentional life sequel to ‘Unsung.’ I did get to sing of the love that I longed to know. A love that changed me from the moment it started, softening and opening my heart in ways I hadn’t yet experienced.

Persaud met producer and bassist Scott McCannell of Safe Spaceship Music in 2019. “Scott and I shared the same desire to create something new while preserving the classic warmth of the 70s soul and jazz sounds we love.” The two began compiling a collection of demos that eventually became Moody31. “The baritone ukulele was the foundational instrument I used to write the record,” Persaud says. “I would teach Scott a new song, and, to avoid perfectionism, we would record a rough demo while the song was loose and fresh.” With all the bed-tracks recorded in one room, the songs have a live, jazz-combo quality. Kyla Charter and James Baley’s backing vocals are full of disco-esque call-and-response, while Chino de Villa’s steady drums lend heartbeat from start to finish.

“When I wrote this tune, I channeled my love for Nat King Cole. Anything that he sings is instantly the most lush and romantic sentiment ever sung. I wrote the song and sent it to my partner but without any words, just melody and chords. Shyly sharing the poem that is lyric for the song later on, we both recorded a version together during covid, this version ended up being the duo arrangement on the album. Originally entitled ‘Words For You’, I made it a little more intimate, a little more Queer and here we are now. Dedicated to my love.”

Filmed at The Great Hall in Toronto with Josh Rille and Ayo Tsalithaba the video for “Words For Her” captures the beauty found in the moment right before saying the words, a moment that many remember all their lives. The visuals reflect pouring over journal entries and multiple drafts of letters to find the right words, with thoughts and papers swirling around.

Lydia Persaud
Moody31
Track List
Next Door Records

01 Good For Us
02 I Got You
03 Think Of Me
04 Moody31
05 Unsung
06 Words For Her
07 Let Me Be There For You
08 Outro

Order Moody31 by Lydia Persaud HERE