We’re getting a fair bit of RnB coming our way recently and here’s an unusual one. Partly because Stockholm’s JÁNA works not out of her bedroom studio as so many young artists do these days but out of one in her parents’ garage. Also because she’s teamed up with Gothenburg’s Little Dragon, which provided the dreamy backdrop, along with a little electronica. (She came to their studio; they didn’t go to her bedroom). In fact, she’s opened for them on several occasions after they chanced on some of her early demos.
She says, “My goal is to create a world for each song to live in. I pay a lot of attention to lyrics. I want them to hit hard, but still be art. I want the songs to have a variety of potential interpretations depending on which way the listener hears it." The song is “about this person I was beginning a relationship with, my first impression of her and what our relationship might become.” It seems that relationship ended abruptly two years later. The title was chosen because the wild rose is an ancient symbol for something told in secret.
It all sounds a little mysterious and it is. Little Dragon are more in evidence towards the end of the song. For the most part JÁNA’s wistful, lo-fi presence takes centre stage. You could wine and dine your Tinder date to it, which indeed is what she appears to be doing in the sepia-coloured official video which goes with the song, except that the chemistry between the two of them doesn’t look likely to combust any time soon.
JÁNA has done well to attract such a big name to support her debut single but even had Little Dragon not been present on it there’s enough here to suggest a sultry and big-selling EP. ‘Flowerworks’ is due for release on July 3rd, 2020 and ‘Wild Roses’ was released on 15th April.
Incidentally, the instrumental outro is missing on the video so you can find it on Spotify track are included here.