For the last few months, Jorja Smith has been gearing up for her new album, falling or flying. More than just another album in a catalogue, this one arrives after a brief hiatus—signposted by the aptly named Be Right Back EP—that saw the Walsall singer take a breather, regroup, and return with a wholly new approach.
When Jorja did return, it was pretty clear from the outset that something was different. For one, she came with news that she’d set up her own label, FAMM, and that from this point forward, she’d be releasing her music via this new outlet.
Musically, things took a little longer to reveal themselves. First single “Try Me” was grand in scale, with an epic visual to match, but still felt like a natural evolution of her haunting, siren-like vocal style. But then we got a dancefloor number, “Little Things”, and a subsequent jungle remix from Nia Archives, before giving us some pop-rock with “Go Go Go”.
By the time the cosmos-inspired video for the title track arrived, it became pretty clear she was only interested in what she wanted to do. Putting it more plainly, she explains this new chapter in her own words: “I like this world that I’ve just come into, and I’m still figuring things out, always figuring things out,” Jorja says. “This is the first time I’m putting stuff out there that I can connect with right now.”
That there are only two features on the whole album adds to this sense of heightened autonomy: one comes from the Jamaican singer Lila Iké and the other from her old friend, J Hus.
Similarly, production comes from DAMEDAME*, a duo it sounds like Jorja formed a tight bond with while making the album. “I feel like making the album brought me back home,” she shares. “Where you’re from is where you get your powers, and that’s why I’m so grateful I could make this with DAMEDAME*; they still have their roots in the ground from back home, and we had so much fun making this.”
Get into the new album after the jump.
