Alyusha lets the light shine in on experimental R'n'B track "Cracks"

"You’ll hear the word “kintsugi” a few times in this track and to give you a bit of background; it’s the japanese art form of mending broken ceramics with gold," Says the London-based artist, explaining the core idea of the track, "It symbolises the idea that something which is broken has the potential of becoming more beautiful."

Alyusha was born to Japanese and Romanian/Irish parents, and her rich cultural background permeates through her work. "Cracks" skitters, jutters and jerks through genres-defying moments, tip-toeing along Hip Hop-inspired beats before blooming into a totally different beast. True to its 'kintsugi' origins, it works as a patchwork of ideas that have been lovingly restored to create something that's both unique and beautiful in its own right.

The track also sees Alyusha deal with personal tragedy, using the creation of the song as a way of reflecting on the positives, as she explains "Over the last few months, I’ve spent hours and hours alone in the studio writing and producing. I wrote “Cracks” after losing my amazing Father last year, I had come back from a month in Tokyo and he died the day after I got back. He was my best friend and losing him was heart-breaking. I spent a lot of time reflecting on how lucky I was to have known him and to experience the reality of impermanence in a deep way. The production is kind of all over the place with this track, it can be pretty intense but then the choruses have moments of clarity and beauty. I suppose this really reflects everything I was going through at the time. Huge amounts of emotion then a sense of calm over and over again.”

The track is the first to come from her upcoming EP entitled Little God which is due out later this year.