Ethel melds languish and lucidity on "WANNAGO?"

Coming from a lineage of impressive French artists, Ethel's formative years in Paris were spent soaking in the cultural throws of the city and pouring them into weekends at the studio. It was when she began studying at university in London, however, that her artistry was truly ignited. Building a community of like-minded peers and hosting gigs at friends' houses, her grit and passion added new colour to her music-making. After another year in Paris collaborating with producer Banshee, the duo created her breakthrough hit "Andromeda" which was featured in HBO's The Idol in 2022.

Now back with her debut EP, The Burden of Fever Dreams, the project swirls with her signature lick of soul, languish, and lucidity. Raised on a diet of Stevie Wonder, Prince, and Marvin Gaye, and soon finding her own energised love of Solange, Lauryn Hill and newer age artists Kendrick Lamar and Noname, Ethel's inspirations run as broad as they are deep. These can all be felt within different corners of the EP, as she brings an indubitable polish to the proceedings.

"All the songs from this EP are tainted with the fears and insecurities that invade my daily life and sometimes make me dissociate from reality," Ethel tells of the project. "This resonated with the experience of fever dreams and how as the body changes its temperature you start reaching other levels of consciousness."

She continues, "'WANNAGO?’ calls on that feeling, punctuated with whispered, warped ad libs to create a dreamlike soundscape as I wanted to sing about wanting to make the voices in my head disappear." This layering of echoes and synths creates a hushed power as the song builds into its orchestral climax. Vibrant and virtuous even whilst singing about invasive anxieties, Ethel's music is the antidote for fevers and the lifeblood of dreams.