Each Measure Feature: Lana Karlay

FEATURE

At the age of 17, Lana Karlay has already mastered the elusive art of using her voice as a vehicle for emotional storytelling. The Australian artist has just released her latest single, “Don’t Let Me Go,” and the result is a cinematic masterpiece with a darkly mysterious fairytale shimmer to its composition.

Karlay’s press release describes “Don’t Let Me Go” as being about “the desperation of holding onto someone who’s slipping away.” It’s this sense of poignant urgency that drives the song and gives it its purpose.  It’s a form of personal dislocation that all of us have experienced in one way or another, and Karlay’s single gives vent to it in a way that leaves us feeling like we’ve just had a much-needed cry.

Karlay recorded “Don’t Let Me Go” at GoldDiggers Sound Studio in Los Angeles. Her vocals are accompanied by a live band, and her chemistry with the other musicians in the room may be partly responsible for the dynamic nature of the track.

As the song progresses, Karlay forces her voice to swell to new heights of passion as her plea – “Don’t let me go,” – becomes more and more earnest. She begins with a chamber-worthy introduction consisting of only a soft but serious piano and vocal pairing before gradually building tension and bringing the piece to a cathartic emotional climax bolstered by a string quartet. What strikes me most about this piece is how much movement it contains. It feels almost like a film scene, full of high stakes and mounting tension, and capturing the last moments of someone clinging desperately to the last vestiges of control and bargaining for her own survival.

If this track is anything to go by, Karlay has no interest in creating background music that’s meant to fill silence but ultimately be ignored. Instead, she’s offering a wholly immersive experience – one that demands to be heard and felt in equal measure.

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