Rafaella
– Nobody Knows
Genre: indie/electropop/RnB
Check it out: Rafaella is immensely talented and versatile, and fans of pure RnB, singer songwriter, blues, jazz, and the darker side of folk could add some indie pop to their playlists with Nobody Knows.
Rafaella’s new track heads to the darker side of indie pop- and that’s the best possible thing which could have happened.
Check it out: Rafaella is immensely talented and versatile, and fans of pure RnB, singer songwriter, blues, jazz, and the darker side of folk could add some indie pop to their playlists with Nobody Knows.
Rafaella’s new track heads to the darker side of indie pop- and that’s the best possible thing which could have happened.
Nobody
Knows detours away from the chilled out side of indie. There’s a sultriness to
it which isn’t often seen. This is a track which ends up intense and moody
without losing any of the filmy beauty which it starts it, a tour de force of
emotional regulation lulling the listener into a false sense of indie melancholia
before diving down to deeper, darker places. It is pop with a twist, a cocktail
of influences spiked with just enough rhythm and blues to give you a kick. The
production is impeccable too, as the transition from the softer beginning to
the greater intensity towards the end could have easily been managed wrongly.
At
only 21, Rafaella is already a musical veteran, having been performing from a
young age in Cyprus, where she grew up. This is self-evident, as throughout the
track she shows a masterful command of storytelling, bringing out all the
darkness and paranoia of a clandestine love affair while managing to balance it
with passion and a risqué playfulness. Rafaella draws from reality for her
inspiration, and there is a real sense of intensity in her vocals. This is an artist
who immerses herself in her craft.
It definitely shows. Nobody Knows is smart,
sensuous, and self-aware. The punch which comes with the darker melody is taken
into different contexts, and, starting off with barely any instrumentation, the
drums and bass which kick in in the second verse are timed perfectly. For a
topline which is delightfully noir and languid, this contrast injects a jolt of
energy to complement the vocals as opposed to taking away from them. Production
and arrangement have been managed with precision and attention to detail, and
you can tell there has been love and care invested in this. The rhythm and melody
are shaken up in the bridge towards the end, providing just enough tension for
the final chorus to pay off. If anything, I wished there had been more usage of
Rafaella’s considerable vocal talents, as the track lends itself to runs and
improvisation. However, this is only a good thing, and I’m seriously looking
forward to seeing her sophisticated twist being applied to more tracks in future.
Follow her on Instagram @Rafaellaxo
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