Jade Empress has had a busy few years.
As well as steadily ticking over songwriting accolades (winner of Songsalive!'s Song Comp in 2017, and finalist in the Australian Songwriters Association Songwriting Contest and the International Songwriting Competition 2021 to name a few), picking up community and commercial steam on the back of her first swaggering single ‘Golden Hours‘, Empress has also been toiling away on the frontlines of the pandemic as a doctor.
No wonder her latest single, released earlier this month, is under the name ‘Madness.’
The chamber-pop tune is a slow builder, building on a base of delicate piano, quickly doubled down with a thrumming electro trap beat. Enter the bold, silvery vocals of Empress standing front and centre as she weaves a tale celebrating the only certainty of life that isn’t death or taxes - chaos.
Choosing to welcome rather than fight the inevitable, Empress says the whirlwind of the past few years has lended her a certain appreciation for disruption and upheaval.
"Routine has always been important for me,” she says.
“I thought the pandemic was bad.
“Now, suddenly I'm finding myself working in the Pacific, as a doctor alongside the Australian Defence Force, and living day to day in an environment of civil and political unrest, I truly appreciate uncertainty and a certain kind of daily madness."
‘Madness’ truly shows Empress vocal range to its full extent, with the big belting chorus reaching great heights , whilst demonstrating a keen sense of control and keeping emotionality in focus.
Produced by Kon Kersting, the same Grammy award-winning creator who works with the The Jungle Giants, Tones and I, and The Rubens, the single channels the soft but powerful energy of a London Grammar ballad, a Lana Del Ray ditty or (and this may just be me) early Kelly Rowland. Either way, being reminded of ‘When Love Takes Over’ is never an insult.
Jade Empress has two more single set for release later this year, so give this one a spin and know your appetite for more with soon be sated.
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