FELIVAND, 22-year-old Meanjin/Brisbane, Australia-based artist, today shares “Not My Way” to announce her debut album, Ties, out August 5th, 2022 via Sweat It Out. This single also welcomes the news of FELIVAND’s signing with US booking agency, Arrival Artists (BADBADNOTGOOD, Niüfer Yanya, Genesis Owusu). LISTEN HERE + WATCH HERE + PRE-SAVE/PRE-ORDER ALBUM HERE

On “Not My Way”, FELIVAND showcases a darker and grittier side compared to the warmth shown on previously released “Butterfly Wings.” Pulsed forward by a thudding melody underpinning brassy vocals, she sings, “Holding onto pain it is not my way,” absolutely determined to let it all go. Teaming up with producer Maxwell Byrne (Mallrat, Cub Sport), she shares more about the song, “It’s about forgiveness and letting go. Picking up your pieces and moving forward whether or not you got the closure or apology you think you deserved in that moment.”

Alongside a new music video directed by Gabe Hanvey, the sentimentality of “Not My Way” is brought to life, he shares, “The video captures the youthful venture of two long-time friends riding through suburban streets and park grounds, both in ultimate search of amusement, joy, and connection. Exploring themes of solitude and setback, the music video delves into the intricacies of friendship and what it means to trust and confide in another individual.”

Throughout her forthcoming debut album, Ties, FELIVAND‘s songwriting leans towards poeticism, nuance, and the metaphorical. Underneath rich bass lines, warm, jazz-flickered chords, harmonic vocal stacks and crisp percussion, she ruminates on knotty questions of mental health, spirituality, interpersonal connections and her own place in the world. Speaking to the upcoming release of her debut album, FELIVAND shares, “I have dreamt of recording an album ever since I can remember, so to see ‘Ties’ in its final form brings me a joy and satisfaction I can’t quite put into words. I have never felt more aligned with or proud of anything I have written before.”

Although FELIVAND still records in much the same manner as she began – a fruitful, abundant flurry of noodling around with samples, bass lines, vocal stacks and chords, cocooned in her bedroom’s secluded sphere of creation – Ties sees her open this once private sphere to outside collaborators including Wes Singerman, Taydex, Royce Wood Junior, Max Byrne, Tristan Hoogland, and more. Working collaboratively, FELIVAND’s vision comes into more clarified relief, able to oversee the flourishing of a song from germination to budding actualization.

Influenced by the likes of Kali Uchis, Solange, James Blake, among others, FELIVAND‘s recent projects have garnered praise from Billboard, COLORS, triple j, Bandcamp, Lyrical Lemonade, Apple Music (New Artist of the Week), and more. For an artist whose interwoven personal and creative development has always been on show, the story of FELIVAND is that of an artist continually growing into herself.