Budiey
Los Angeles based Malaysian pop artist Yuna announces her new independent album Y5 to be released in five stages throughout the remainder of this year, with the first project Y1 out today. The project arrives with a mesmerizing video that weaves together the three new tracks – “Hello,” “Pantone 17 13 30” and “Cigarette” – into one visual concept.
The video starts in black & white and progresses into a deeply saturated color scheme. Directed by filmmaker Adam Sinclair, who is also Yuna’s husband, the video seamlessly transitions from song to song, while also capturing the evolution of morning to night in the deserts of Joshua Tree.
“Pantone 17 13 30” made its debut on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” where they described the new song as a “soothing mellow, soulful gem.” Listen to the episode HERE.
In a heartfelt appreciation post last week, Yuna told fans, “I want to say thank you to everyone who continues to believe in me. It hasn’t been an easy journey.. But here we are – my 5th album, can you believe it? Putting out a project as an independent artist for the first time in 10 years feels pretty amazing!!! I’m able to make my own rules as I go.. So here it goes..”
The Y1 collection starts off with “Hello,” a dream-like confrontation of life and death. Yuna explains, “I wanted to write something around the topic of death especially after losing someone really close to me and it was something unexpected. One day we’re all going to leave this earth, why do we avoid that conversation? This is my message to everyone I love – once I leave the world, I don’t want you to be sad.”
“Hello” is followed by the new single “Pantone 17 13 30,” which she says, “I’ve come to a place in my life where I can appreciate my natural beauty (such as my skin tone) and this song is about finding someone who recognizes and sees the beauty that I have already realized within me.” The collection closes with “Cigarette,” using the toxic habit as an analogy for the unyielding give and take of the music industry. “As an artist, I feel as if we’re kind of like cigarettes – we’re all burning to the end and then what?”
Since her self-titled 2012 debut album and the Pharrell Williams-produced breakthrough hit “Live Your Life,” Yuna has crafted music that speaks to the soul, with a breezy and effervescent tone that organically blends pop, folk, and R&B. Her personally charged songs are deeply felt yet melodically irresistible, combining her engaging voice and expressive songcraft with imaginative production to create wholly distinctive music that’s won her comparisons with the likes of Feist, Adele and Norah Jones.
Originally from Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Yuna was exposed to a wide variety of homegrown and western music, thanks in large part to her father’s wide-ranging tastes in American rock, pop, blues and jazz. She began writing her own confessional songs, most of them in English, at the age of 14. She was still in her teens when she began performing her compositions in public, initially accompanying herself on acoustic guitar and later forming a full band.
Now, the new Y5 series is an opportunity for Yuna to celebrate ten years in the industry since her first record in the US, a feat for any artist. She’s made the creative decision to release music independently, giving fans the opportunity to “be able to take their time and listen – and connect to every single song, before the next one comes.”
For more information on Yuna, visit yunamusic.com.
Photo Credit: Ajarina Hitomi
Lyric
Album : YUNA Y5
Project title: “Y1 : Hello”
Hello
Hello I’ve been waiting for you
Feels like darkness taking over
My mind I can see the light
I’ve given everything inside
Hello I’ve been waiting for you
And if I go
Don’t let the tears become you
I’ve only left to the next room
We danced around and not talk about it
But know I had loved, and had love.
Hello I’ve been waiting for you
Feels like darkness taking over
My mind I can see the light
I’ve given everything inside
Hello I’ve been waiting for you
Feels like darkness taking over
My mind I can see the light
Forgiveness, and unspoken goodbyes
And if I go just don’t forget
The dream goes on
Only for you to find me
I’ll live on in your morning coffee
And when the bird sings,
You know that’s me.
Pantone 17 1330
The sun on my skin
Colors all around me come to life
It matches my complexion
The sand, sky and ocean
I was hoping you can see me, yeah
Pantone 17, ah, 13 30
When I’m in the sun and you tell me I’m the one yeah
Pantone 17, yeah, 13 30
The color of my skin
When you tell that you love me
Yeah
Sweet like honey
Mm
Baby if only
You can see what I see
My flaws and imperfection
They compliment my palette baby
You showed me
Pantone 17, ah, 13 30
When I’m in the sun and you tell me I’m the one yeah
Pantone 17, yeah, 13 30
The color of my skin
When you tell that you love me
Yeah
Sweet like honey
Cigarette
Hey baby
I think you’re something special
I know you feel the pressure
It’s only in your mind
In your mind
Yeah you’re fine, babe
Hey baby
I know its been a while
It seems like time just pass you by
The sparkle in your eyes
No, no it never die
It’s not always easy
The road seems endless
It makes you wonder
If you’re not made to last
(Not made to last, babe)
It’s not always easy
When you’re burning so fast
It makes you wonder
If you’re just another
Cigarette
Hey baby
Been doing this a long time
You showed the way how things are done
Changed a lot of minds
Just being true to being you
It’s not always easy
The road seems endless
It makes you wonder
If you’re not made to last
(Not made to last, babe)
It’s not always easy
When you’re burning so fast
It makes you wonder
If you’re just another
Cigarette
(a cigarette babe)
I don’t know what’s wrong
Been doing this for too long
I’m done with the chase
I just need some space
I don’t know what’s wrong
Been doing this for too long
I’m done with the chase
I just need some space
