Becky and the Birds muses over moving on with “Do U Miss Me”

The baby of Swedish singer-songwriter Thea Gustafsson, Becky and the Birds carved out a space in the spotlight for herself back in 2018 thanks to her self-titled debut EP. The collection marked her out as one of a new crop of artists inspired by Frank Ocean’s woozy, choppy R&B, but with enough of her own spark and style to stand out from the crowd.

In the time since, she's been quiet, but now freshly signed-up to label 4AD, Gustafsson is ready to kick off a new chapter, beginning with the single “Do U Miss Me”. Stylistically, the track doesn’t stray too far from her home turf, but when Gustafsson adds it to her potion of production effects, “Do U Miss Me” takes its soulful R&B and transforms it into her own streamlined and smoothened world.

Kicking off with a pitch-shifted sample, as the song progresses Gustafsson lets the wings of her voice fly free, swooping over sprinkles of piano, and “Do U Miss Me” grows into a beautifully detailed, subtly affecting ballad. “I think we can all relate to the feeling that you get when you realize that someone you’ve loved so deeply and know so well has moved on,” shares Gustafsson of her inspiration behind the track.

“It can be such a bittersweet feeling,” she continues. “You’re happy for them and you want the best for them, but it’s still strange to not be the one who they turn to anymore. That there’s someone else there with them and you don’t know how much of what you had is still there. ‘Do U Miss Me’ is about this feeling, and also about the moment you realize that oh, wait! Maybe that person can’t let go completely after all...”