Excelling in its range of lush synth-laden intrigue and dexterous percussive energy, “An Invite” is a consuming new art-pop single from Canadian artist Carmen Braden. The track marks the second single from the Yellowknife-based artist’s forthcoming album A Hard Light, releasing on December 5th. “This tune comes from a memory of a night when I was a young woman away from home,” Braden explains. “There was an encounter that brought me sharply to a moment of choices—choices about what I was ready to do with my body and with whom.”
Crisp, illuminated synths complement a steady vocal delivery to start — with lyrical images of “walking home alone,” furthering the overall nocturnal mystique. “There was a path laid out for me, by someone else I didn’t know,” the vocals continue, as lingering guitar distortion and escalating percussion intermingle with the wintry synths. A spacious, spine-tingling sequence — “it wasn’t up to me,” — enthralls at the two-minute mark, as spacey synth pads and dual-vocal immersion compel. “An Invite” is an atmospheric, emotive success from Carmen Braden, who elaborates further on the track, below:
“I remember coming out of that moment feeling so strong, knowing that I had made deep, clear choices for myself. The music emerged from a marimba loop and improvisation by my producer, Mark Adam, which reminded me of that time in my life. The call-and-response moments with Nova Scotia singer Cas Palmer weave into the long melodies of this story-song, featuring expansive rolling grooves and drum-and-bass vibes, all of which have grown into a darkness and intensity that truly match the memory.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
