Vibrant African influences burst through the latest track ‘Break My Silence’ from Gabrielle Sey—which airs first below—delivering not just a sound which is distinctly refreshing but commands a whole new rhythm to deliver a determined message: speak your mind, speak your experiences.
The song opens with rhythmic chanting, setting the theme of articulation and expression in an artful way. Then Sey’s authoritative vocal seethes in with a kind of pop, pushing out the title “Silence“.
At first, the track seems to build on the basis of voice; the chanting topped with Sey’s own powerful vocals which swell with volume whilst also setting pace, carefully co-ordinated so to stand just above the surrounding sound. Hers is a voice which provides a kind of instrumentation in its own right, jumping into lines like, “Join the conversation,” and later lines like, “I feel this way —shall I open my mouth” bringing bassy depth.
For, in awareness of #MeToo and the ever-important demand of fair representation for women, Sey’s track is a surging expression of anyone’s right to speak. It is underlined as the line “Should I break my silence“ serves as an anthemic amplifier, developing the dynamics of the track as steel-pan-like drums drive in, with an almost rhumba-style upbeat. This is a refreshing, rousing arrangement.
The accumulation of sound does not detract from Sey’s vocal power however: in fact it highlights it. Quickly trilled phrases like, “In two minds/ In two minds” and “Overthinking/ Overthinking” amplify a state of mental anguish, before glistening guitar gears in.
‘Break My Silence’ is a careful composition of celebratory sound then, showing how surges can build and new noise can become. Sey adds to that with lyrical flair, half-rhyme turning up the heat of her phrases like, “This battle keeps going on and on” with artful repetition—”My mind is in a civil war.”
Ahead of her debut EP, ‘Break My Silence’ highlights the hot-moulded energy of Gabrielle Sey as something to watch. As the song ends on the notion “I am gonna break it down,” topped with a triumphant cry of “break“—this is a track not just of voice, but of victory. Brilliant.
The new single ‘Break My Silence’ is available to Stream/Purchase on digital platforms here.
