A very special acoustic version of ‘Medicine’ is available now.
Art runs in her blood and growing up in the Caribbean with a musical family helped her creative spark blossom. Au/Ra’s father is a renowned electronic/ dance producer Torsten Stenzel, so her obsession with music started early.
She’s also a serious Lord of The Rings fan and has a vast love for Anime which is expressed in her music. You can tell that her music is lyrically-minded and hones in on the stories weaved within. There’s a magnetism towards fantasy throughout her work, and as a result, Au/Ra creates beautifully crafted forms of escapism with each single.
Last year was pretty big for the teenager, as she rose to prominence with her track ‘Panic Room’. It was a huge summer hit and was A-listed on R1, Kiss and Capital as well as spending nine weeks in the Top 40. While most teen stars exude a vibe of cockiness and frivolity, you can tell that growing up on a Caribbean island has done great things for Au/Ra’s sense of reality. She’s cool, calm and collected despite her rising fame and instead of focusing on external stimulus, Au/Ra has chosen to take inspiration from her personal experiences.
Unlike most ‘pop stars’ this green-haired girl has bravely created music that deals with serious topics like mental health, and ‘Panic Room’ gained recognition as a track that captured the sensation of anxiety perfectly. Her ethos is to write music that touches on the issues today’s younger generation face. Expressing feelings of self-destruction and communication struggles in today’s emoji-centric world are essential to the budding creative.
Her more recent tracks,‘ Medicine’ and ‘Dance in The Dark’ have been hugely popular. The former is about learning how to heal and acknowledging that sometimes another person cannot be your medicine – a pretty deep topic for a 17-year-old to be grappling with.
The chorus comes as a striking and soothing release, and perfectly mirrors the way you feel when you realise that no one can fix you except you. Her echoing vocals relay the aching pain that can be felt when you’re trying to medicate something that is broken unsuccessfully. Her sound is thoughtful and thought-provoking, and you can physically see her putting her whole being into the story she’s telling.
