MUSIC PREMIERES
As people go feral for either a lick of nostalgic fun with Blink-182 or something more chaotic with The Prodigy, tucked away in the BBC Radio 1 tent is the spell-binding Jorja Smith. With revamped, groovy jazz renditions of her acclaimed ballads, she creates a space of tranquillity at the end of the festival’s first day.
In the beginning, Smith is demure, singing along to her songs coyly and soaking up the adoring energy that’s thick in the air. She doesn’t say much but keeps a massive grin on her face while she thanks the crowd for having her. Instead, she focuses on delivering her slick and emotive tunes with mystique and pure precision.
The songs hit deep for many, holding a sentimental place in much of the audience’s hearts. “If she does ‘Blue Lights’, I’ll go feral!” one girl in the pit says excitedly before an ultramarine glow covers her. Once the chorus hits, she and the rest of the audience pour their hearts out to Smith’s debut single. The choral singing is stirring, heightening the sense of awe and unadulterated emotion. “OK,” she says, “I think you lot are ready to party.”
That’s when the band begins to play ‘Come Over’ – and the island-infused percussion puts a spell on Jorja’s hips, which sway from here on out. Even her backing singers – who have their standout moments throughout – break out from behind their mic stands and shake a leg with her.
The party doesn’t truly start, though, until ‘Ladbroke Grove’. As the chopped-up vocals and skippy drums play, people erupt and immediately get their skank on as when the West Midlands superstar brings out AJ Tracey and duets with him for a great transition into her own slew of bangers.
You could power a town with the electricity in the air in the tent by the end of Jorja’s set. She rolls through her party-friendly hits (with a pinch of angst with ‘Teenage Fantasy’), and the pure adulation the crowd shows her is next to none. The once-flailing arms stretch high, holding up heart-shaped hands, trying to find a way to thank her for pulling off a set that is a magical touch to a blockbuster Friday.
‘Try Me’
‘Blue Lights’
‘Addicted’
‘Where did I Go?’
‘Falling or Flying’
‘GO GO GO’
‘The One’
‘Come Over’
‘High’
‘Ladbroke Grove’ with AJ Tracey
‘Teenage Fantasy’
‘Be Honest’
‘On My Mind (Preditah remix)’
‘Little Things’
MUSIC PREMIERES
Lykke Li didn’t hold back when speaking about the making of her sixth studio album, ‘The Afterparty’, during a listening session in Los Angeles earlier this year. “Let’s talk about the album. It was a motherfucker to make,” she admitted to the crowd. While balancing motherhood, the chaos of modern culture shaped by Trump and AI, and her own desire to create something more “extroverted, impulsive and chaotic” than ‘EYEYE’, as she previously shared with NME, the Swedish alt pop star arrived at a headspace that “feels like it’s 4am and the sun is going to rise”. The record captures that blurry final moment before regret, exhaustion and reality settle in, which makes it even more emotional considering she has hinted this could potentially be her final album.
There is something fitting about how brief the project feels. With only nine tracks running across 24 minutes, it never overstays its welcome. Lykke immediately drops listeners into the atmosphere with opener ‘Not Gon Cry’, painting a picture of those lonely early morning hours with the line, “No angels here tonight, no dancing queens.” Alongside the shadowy pulse of ‘Happy Now’ and the twisted disco energy of ‘Lucky Now’, she revisits the emotional yet dance driven spirit of her earlier material while blending in the sharper, more confident attitude heard on ‘So Sad, So Sexy’ and the shimmering influence of her 2019 Mark Ronson collaboration ‘Late Night Feelings’.
The emotional fallout begins to settle in quickly. ‘Famous Last Words’ carries a lush orchestral sadness as Lykke reflects on lessons that only came after years of chaos and late nights, confessing, “I had to crash and burn to tell the tale.” Then comes ‘Future Fear’, a delicate acoustic track with robotic textures that stares directly into anxiety and uncertainty with the chilling question, “I’m going to a dark place, do you need anything?” Meanwhile, ‘So Happy I Could Die’ glows like sunrise after a sleepless night, holding onto fleeting moments as she sings about “slipping through the hourglass”.
Throughout the album, Lykke Li vividly captures the beauty and wreckage of reckless nights with the vulnerability that has always defined her music. On ‘Sick Of Love’, she channels heartbreak into revenge, wanting to “make you beg for it” after rejection in a way that feels spiritually connected to Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’. One of the strongest moments arrives with ‘Knife In The Heart’, a track that fully embraces her desire to become the “rock god” and “fuck boy” she spoke about, firing back at anyone who tries to tear her down with the words “you can spit, you can walk on me” while delivering one of the catchiest songs she has created in years.
Closing track ‘Euphoria’ leaves behind the same bittersweet feeling that runs through the rest of the album. With sweeping strings, pulsing beats and emotional intensity, Lykke Li reminds listeners that nothing lasts forever as she sings, “Player play your song, waste the night away”. Like the fading energy of the perfect night out, ‘The Afterparty’ ends in a haze of beauty and uncertainty. If this truly is her farewell, she leaves with one final intoxicating statement, though it still feels like there could be another chapter waiting.
