Patterns
Gabrielle Sey
Every now and again an artist will come along and completely encapsulate my attention. Sometimes its a catchy riff, a unique vocal style, or even because its simply a musician and their instrument and nothing more. In the case of Gabrielle Sey there is just something hypnotically beautiful and at the same time unforgiving and raw about her music. After releasing ‘White Noise’ earlier this year Gabrielle captured my attention through her effortless blend of old school r’n’b, afro-beats, and soul. So for me, there was a lot of expectation when getting the news of her follow up single….It didn’t disappoint.
‘Patterns’ much like ‘White noise’ is very much driven by the combination of beat and Gabrielle’s vocals. However ‘Patterns’ takes it up a notch in the beat department, giving this track a real, unstoppable drive quality. Once again she harnesses the off beat in her rhythm and weaves her voice between each stop and start, almost as though her voice is cutting through a churning landscape of sound. Despite the wealth of rhythm provided by drums, bass, and other percussion the song still has a minimalist style with Gabrielle’s voice and a great use of layered backing vocals providing much of the compositions rise and fall.
Lyrically this song takes an uncompromising look at the concept of choices. The pressure to make them, the concern of consequences, and an inevitable loss in faith when choices don’t go your way. “…..It is your choice, your indecisiveness is pushing you of course….” This line, at the opening of the song really sets up the Jekyl and Hyde nature of making choices. They seem so easy as they are in our control but it seems we are almost built to doubt ourselves every time. Reinforcing this duality is the hook of the chorus “….She don’t care….” The repetition of this line after each preceding line is relatable in that we’ve all reached a point when making choices where we just throw up our hands and say ‘I don’t care anymore’.
Overall ‘Patterns’ is a song that isn’t afraid to push the envelope of its own soundscape. Even the opening guitar carries an almost slightly off sound that only adds to the songs overall richness. With each release Gabrielle is seemingly creating her own unique style and sound, and I for one cannot wait to hear what comes next. She already has an EP in the works for later this year and to say expectations are high is an understatement. However if this release is anything to go by, we have barely scratched the surface of what Gabrielle Sey can produce.
Listen to Patterns
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