After tentatively dipping her toe in the water with a series of SoundCloud uploads, 21-year-old, Dublin-born singer-songwriter Aby Coulibaly eventually plucked up the courage to make a proper go of it, opting for the independent route by setting up a label with her friends, Chamomile Records, in the summer of last year.
In July, a year later, all the pieces were in place for Coulibaly to release her debut single, "Taurus", a sultry, smoky piece of R&B with a nostalgic visual from co-directors Monjola and Will Kennedy. Backed by just a minimalist production, Coulibaly puts behind her the memories of an ex who couldn't get his priorities straight. As she explains below, it was tough to say goodbye to someone so central to her life, but in a strange way also empowering.
"'Taurus' is about getting over someone you were hung up on and chilling with friends because they're the realest ones we've got," she says. "I wrote it after I had ended things with a guy who I really liked at the time, but he wasn't sure what he wanted so I had told him not to waste anymore of my time and ended things. I was surprised by how easy it was for me to move on and not be upset because I had made the decision that I deserved better.
"I wrote the chorus first and I didn't actually intend to write it about this experience at first, but as soon as I started to freestyle over the instrumental it was obvious to me what was on my mind and how I'd continue writing the rest of it. For me, this song is important because it's about loving yourself enough to know what you deserve and also to focus on yourself even if that means ditching that boy."
Watch the video for "Taurus" exclusively above, and be sure to add the song to your playlists.
