One of the UK’s most exciting musical talents, RAYE, today announces her highly anticipated new album My 21st Century Blues, to be released on February 3rd 2023. The pre-order for the album goes live today and  to  celebrate  RAYE releases two brand new songs as another taste of the album.  LISTEN HERE  +  PRE-ORDER MY 21ST CENTURY BLUES HERE.

‘Escapism.‘ and ‘The Thrill Is Gone.‘ both showcase very different sides of RAYE‘s musical journey, clearly underlining just how diverse RAYE‘s upcoming album is. ‘Escapism.‘ is a trip-hop inspired song about heartbreak, loneliness and escaping those emotions, featuring New Jersey rapper 070 Shake.

RAYE says “Escapism is about running away from reality as fast as you possibly can. Going out alone, ignoring everybody who has your best interest at heart, chasing a maze of smoke and mirrors because clarity is bitterly intimidating. When you’re your lowest of lows, it’s like survival mode mind numbing running from real life because it’s not something you want to see. Sonically large and dramatic, something to accompany this feeling, to get lost to and maybe you might find some healing inside of it, like I did.”

The soulful blues-inspired track, ‘The Thrill Is Gone.‘ is RAYE live and raw like never before, featuring all live instruments, jazz infusions and beautiful intricate vocals. “The Thrill is Gone is the story of the dying spark,” RAYE explains. “I became boring and predicable, and he became cold and dismissive. I captured this as a live recording, real raw vocals no autotune, live instrumentation, recorded together in Jimmy Valentine’s gorgeous, ‘frozen in time’ studio in Los Angeles. The song was written some years back, and always held a place in my heart. Special thanks to Anton & Isabella and to Mike for helping me breathe life into this song with your incredible band ‘The Moon Girls’.”

My 21st Century Blues is a stunning collection of heartfelt and emotional songs. Songs made by RAYE, for RAYE, but within that, they’re for everyone who has faced and overcome adversity. As RAYE says, “My 21st Century Blues. My debut album. My ugly complex beautiful mosaic formed from broken pieces of glass from the last 7 years of my life. My medicine, my anxieties and traumas, my unfiltered thoughts. This music accompanied me through my bluest blues, crafted unapologetically and fearlessly with love and tears, and now I can only hope it might provide the same medicine it did for me, for those who choose to listen. I can’t believe it is really happening. My first album.”

After some time out, RAYE recently returned to the music scene with the hard-hitting, critically acclaimed single ‘Hard Out Here‘. Playlisted by BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, the track was heralded by PAPER Magazine as “outrageous and honest, and incredibly vulnerable.” She followed this with her pulsating and emotional single ‘Black Mascara‘ which sees trauma unpacked steadily over a hypnotic dance beat, hailed by NME as a “dancefloor smash” and Billboard as a “killer dance cut”.

RAYE was recently announced as a new addition to BBC Radio 1‘s prestigious Brit List, showing a huge commitment to RAYE from the station. She also performed for Radio 1‘s Live Lounge, singing both ‘Black Mascara‘ and a stunning cover of Kate Bush‘s ‘Running Up That Hill‘. This weekend sees RAYE perform both ‘Escapism‘ and ‘The Thrill Is Gone‘ on Later… with Jools Holland on BBC Two.