Track By Track: Purple Ferdinand on new EP Rain or Shine
2016 saw the legendary Afropunk Festival descend on London for the first time. Widely hailed as one of the most exciting artists to play the festival, Purple Ferdinand now talks us through her new EP, Rain or Shine. Rain or Shine sees Ferdinand bridging the gap between pop and R&B, with the unique nonchalence of her vocal tying the package together with a laidback feel.
Stay
"Stay" is almost like a letter to a friend. Life can often feel discouraging and I've been inspired this past year by so many people that manage life whilst being so active in their own thoughts, afflictions and anxieties. They’re the strongest people I know. I’ve felt a burden before and then I learnt my worth.
Want You To Know
"Your life, your love, your say, your right," - it's your life; love who you love, say what you feel, and please know, you have your rights! When I was writing a lot of these songs I felt like a number of people around me deserved to recognise these things.
Intertwined
I wrote this in the honeymoon stage of being in a new love; enjoying all the same new cute things, the telepathic conversations about silly stuff, knowing each other's mood by a single look and simply going with the sameness. Appreciating a new acceptance of love that I didn’t know I’d receive.
Have A Heart
"Have A Heart" is a conversation with myself about heartache: me thinking out loud about what I’ve felt - clouded, scarred, delusional and distanced. Thoughts lead me to ask outwardly to those ever responsible for breaking a heart if they’ve had one, ever felt the loss, the emptiness. Questioning humility whilst still feeling unashamedly bound to love.
Posing To Move
I wrote this in what felt like a rush one afternoon. Almost mad at my then situation, feeling as I though I was living life at 100 miles per hour and a lot of people around seemed to be fronting about it, faking and giving no heart just all show. I heard the words back and challenged my perspective.
Show Me
We all know words are often quite easy to say. Many of us fall into habits, especially with people we have friendships and relationships with in general. The word "sorry" gets thrown around so much I wanted to playfully ask, what’s the worth if you aren’t going to show me?!
Time
This song has a special place in my heart. I wrote it when I was trying to figure out what a lot of these concerns (in life) I had were. Seeing people in my life, out my life, come and go, love flourish and fade. There was a pattern, a lot of people didn’t realise they were falling into of not making time to love or for love, settling for life’s choices. Not being true to what love is made me feel like I was questioning everything inside me about how we can really live without being true to making time to love.
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