‘Skin’ is the magnetic new single from Roxanne de Bastion and today we are debuting it below. Produced and recorded by Ed Harcourt and the first taste of her own music since 2021’s Bernard Butler produced album You, Me, We Are The Same, ‘Skin ’is the first track to be revealed from her upcoming ‘Ultraviolet’ EP and arrives with the announcement of three headline shows in October of this year, in Brighton, Liverpool and Bristol.
The single is a punchy, succinct and hook laden three minutes of juxtapositions. Scuzzy guitars and percussion bounce along while Roxanne’s charismatic vocal and upbeat melody contrasts with pointed lyrics that tackle repressed thoughts and frustrations, that perhaps particularly as a woman are often hidden away for the sake of politeness. As Roxanne elaborates, the recording reflects the song’s themes:
“There’s a sense of urgency to this recording – we captured it mostly live and quickly – that mirrors the emotions in the song: it’s about airing quiet frustrations we are too scared to voice. Allowing myself to be angry out loud is a learning curve (“I’m too polite to be comfortable in my skin”)”
What is perhaps even more impressive than the single is the fact that Roxanne has found the time to record a new body of work at all, as most recently she has been busy with the launch and release of her first book ‘The Piano Player of Budapest’. The story of her grandfather, a renowned jazz musician who survived the holocaust, the book was published by Little Brown and arrived with an accompanying album, beautifully re-imagined and curated by Roxanne.
Roxanne de Bastion plays
OCTOBER
15th The Prince Albert, BRIGHTON
18th Prohibition Studios, LIVERPOOL
21st Crofters Rights, BRISTOL
Roxanne de Bastion’s entrepreneurial spirit has been evident since she moved from her native Berlin to London aged 19 to pursue a career in music. Over 600 shows later, after a self-released debut album (2017’s Heirlooms and Hearsay), tours with Martha Wainwright, Lambchop and Marillion and performances at Glastonbury and Cambridge Folk festival, 2021 saw the release of her second album You & Me, We Are The Same. The album was produced by the legendary Bernard Butler, who jumped at the chance to work with Roxanne after she had simply emailed him a demo. As Bernard says “some cold calls turn into beautiful projects… I think we created something emotional and special”.
The album, in which Roxanne deals with the loss of her British musician father, was distributed via Republic of Music in 2021. This independent release landed in the official UK album download charts at no.76.
