With her humming vocals, South-London artist Skylu found inspiration for “Ladders” at the Brighton seaside. The title track of her upcoming EP, featured below, was written in one afternoon and is the second collaborative work with Lyonheart. Echoing the song’s quick creative process, it’s filled with dynamic bursts of energy. Feel the currents of the ocean by checking out “Ladders,” and get to know Skylu in a Q&A following the stream.

This track takes me back to my teenage years, pushing limits under dark skies, neon lights, first love, false confidence and oceanic feelings. I used to run away to the river with my discman to hide from the world. I never really said a proper goodbye to my first love, it was tumultuous to say the least. Ladders captures the playfulness, freedom, raw emotion and insecurity underpinning that time. It feels brave and raw and magnetic.

-Skylu

Skylu, after creating Foreign Concept & Ladders, are there any more plans to collaborate with Lyonheart?

During and between lockdowns we wrote a library of tracks, we found a creative synergy right away. By May 2022, five tracks will be released into the universe as a collection. So, you never know, something from the archive may emerge in the future.

With the Ladders EP, is there anything different about how the tracks were made and recorded?

The process was swift and dynamic, often starting and finishing a track in one session. In the studio, Lyonheart and I were both instinctive in our approach. It was very cathartic to write this EP.

What about Brighton had such an influence on you for the title track?

Travelling to Brighton to write and record was key to the process. Improvising with armfuls of old journals as inspiration, whilst in an underground studio, hidden away from the world and my home, I felt transported. I’m a Londoner born and bred, so being in transit and close to the sea gave me a sense of space which is key to creativity.

You mention your dreamworld, where or what does that entail?

I’ve always been a dreamer, the dinner lady at school used to call me “dreamy eyes!” Since I was a kid, I’ve escaped into my inner world and imagination. Daydreams and dreams at night are full of a wisdom that can’t be accessed through intellectual thought.I wake up in the mornings and write down anything I can remember, these shards of dreams often become lyrics. 

Do you have any other co-productions in the works?

Yes! Watch this space. I am enjoying exploring cross-genre collaborations with beautiful people.