Olivia Dean - Messy [LP]

EMI

£27.54

Format: LP

Catalogue No.: EMIV2093

Barcode: 0602455215895

Release Date: 30 Jun 2023

Back in stock: End Jan 2024

Genre: Jazz

Messy tracklisting:
UFO
Dive
Ladies Room
No Man
Dangerously Easy
Getting There (Interlude)
Danger
The Hardest Part
I Could Be A Florist
Messy
Everybody’s Crazy
Carmen

Praise for Olivia Dean:

“The self-love ballad is tricky, but the Londoner balances defiance with genuine romance, the psychedelic soul evoking tweeting birds and dappled sun rays.” - The Guardian

“With a talent and musicality that sound both natural and effortless, she’s got to be a hot tip”
- Sunday Times Culture

“the capital’s most exciting new star” - Evening Standard

“delivered by her silken vocals draped over tender, soul-filled production in a way that could both break and mend hearts.” - Dazed

"A gorgeous collection of soul-laced songs... that are anchored by Dean’s remarkable voice." - NME

“Dean’s songs are self-love singles that empower young women. Her relatable internetisms, compelling storytelling and powerhouse pop vocals come with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humour.” - ELLE

“With harmonies floating like a soft feather in the morning breeze, this soothing track proves this Londoner is one to watch” - gal-dem

“Olivia Dean has a talent for writing songs about the triumphs and tribulations of a relationship” - Hypebae

Fast rising UK soul-pop star Olivia Dean today announces her long-awaited debut album ‘Messy’, due for release on Friday 30th June 2023 via EMI Records. Featuring the singles ‘Danger’ and ‘UFO’, Messy cements Dean as one of the most original and versatile voices in UK pop. Crafting classic yet conversational hooks with genre-fluid tinges, she’s honed a way of exploring universal themes of love, loss and everything in between with razor-sharp but open-hearted storytelling.

Of her debut album, Olivia shares, “Going into making the record, I'd just done this ‘Growth’ project. And for ages, I was like, well, my debut album needs to be what I've grown into, I need to have the answer. And that really confused me for a while. Then I realised, I'm always going to be growing. So this doesn't have to be a destination, it's just where I’m at now.”

“It's funny because I think it’s the most fine-tuned I've got my sound to be, but also the most carefree I've been in actually making music… some of it’s quite vulnerable but it was just made out of pure fun and joy and unbotheredness, and I think I’ve done a good job with calling it Messy because if anybody says it’s all over the place I’ll be like, yeah!”

Dean today also shares her new single ‘Dive’, a twinkling declaration, fortified with nostalgic horns and dreamy harmonies, about dancing on the edge of the cliff before being ready to freefall into something new.

With Olivia Dean’s debut album Messy, we gain a refreshingly textured snapshot of a young woman embracing the beauty in freedom and acceptance: of life, of love, of mess. On it Olivia’s signature soul-bearing lyricism joins forces with some of her most expansive and varied production to date, all bolstered by a newfound determination to defy any categorisation except her own.

Whether it’s the tension she felt in figuring out what space she wanted to occupy musically, or the logistical mayhem of actually producing such a big body of work, or just the everyday cacophony of life and feelings, Messy is a punchy and unexpected debut exploring a wealth of sounds, influences and styles. “Even with the sonics of the record, I’ve left a lot of sound in there, of talking, of the piano pedals. I like that it sounds human. On the title track, there’s a layer of me doing mouth trumpet sounds that was just meant to be a placeholder and I was like let’s just keep it! There’s no rules!” she laughs. “I tried to just expel people's voices from my mind about what I was supposed to make or what would be cool or what would be the most successful thing for me to make and made stuff that I want to listen to.” The project ushers you seamlessly through a patchwork of different atmospheres, gathered together into beautifully organised chaos. At times it’s jazz-filled, at others futuristic, pared back and intimate in moments then playfully bold in the ones that follow. “There's a vocoder and guitar Imogen Heap-thing and then there's Motown Diana Ross-mode. And the last song’s this kind of orchestral thing. It’s just a whole mix. Because why not? I feel like this album is a big fuck you to genre,” Dean says with a laugh.

Elsewhere, she’s been invigorated by her travels outside of the UK, visiting Grenada and Brazil within the last 18 months while writing. The former reminded her to conjure joy in her music too, “to make sure I have some songs on this record that are a joy to perform, that give me the opportunity to have fun and dance,” while the latter introduced her to a whole new perspective on music. “There’s this genre called MBP that’s all old bossa nova music. And I was told it’s something that you listen to with your loved ones and by yourself. It’s really cherished in the culture as romantic music for special moments. And like, what is the English equivalent of that? Of a really cherished genre that’s our special thing or for our quietest moments. And I thought, I want to make that! I want to make music that's for your special times, to soothe you, to attach to beautiful memories that you have.” In many ways, that is precisely what Messy is and will go on to be for many - something to be cherished, shared and relished in. And in the same vein, the process of making it served a similar role for Olivia too: “I’m not a religious person but I would say [making music] is the closest thing I have to any sort of spirituality.”

About Olivia Dean

Born and raised in Walthamstow, Olivia Dean is one the UK’s brightest rising stars, praised for her endearing, down-to-earth lyrics and magnetic, feel-good live performances. To date, Dean has released three acclaimed EPs Ok Love You Bye, What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays? and Growth and in 2021 achieved her first top 20 single with her cover of ‘The Christmas Song’, recorded for Amazon Originals.

Since 2019 Olivia has been gathering fans apace, now with over 5 million monthly listeners globally, and she was streamed over 150 million times in 2022 alone. She has supporters across BBC Radio 1, Beats 1, The Guardian, Sunday Times Style, Dazed, The FADER, NME, ELLE, gal-dem, Vanity Fair, Clash and more tipping her for greatness. She has become a regular feature at fashion week, is a Chanel ambassador and has starred on the cover of fashion titles from Wonderland to Puss Puss.

During the pandemic, Dean connected with fans by performing from the side of her bright yellow truck, which she toured in offering free shows to communities around the UK. Her first official gig back at the Camden Jazz Cafe sold out instantly and went on to be watched over 7 million times after it went viral on Tiktok. 2023 is set to be Olivia’s biggest year to date, with the expected release of her debut album and her biggest shows to date.