MEDUSA, Stella Talpo's debut album is here!
Following a series of singles supported by the likes of BBC Radio 6, BBC Introducing, COLORS & Wonderland, Stella Talpo shares her debut album MEDUSA.
Created with support from PRS’ ‘Women Make Music Fund’ the record was released on Friday 13th October .
Across the 11 tracks that make up her debut album ‘MEDUSA’, Stella challenges societal ideals and oppressive frameworks. A central thread of mythological, primal & visceral imagery is used to normalise elements of life that are part of the ugly (but real) human experience, contrasting with the sterilised society we occupy, where we’ve been detached from our primal nature.
“Initially, the concept was inspired by the ‘Chimera’, a creature villainised for its grotesque form, which paralleled the story I wanted to tell about our inner darkness & imperfections, the things that make us animals that we’ve hidden away, particularly from a woman’s point of view.”
A result of years of musical experimentation and growth with producer Lewis Moody (30/70, Cherise), the project marks an injection of ethereal darkness and alt-pop sound design into Stella’s soulful RnB songwriting. Influences range from the leftfield electronics of Gazelle Twin and the cinematic soul of SAULT, through to engagement with contemporary feminist literature by the likes of Gillian Alban and Clarissa Pinkola Estés. Their writings acted as a springboard for many of the lyrical motifs explored by Stella, as she explains; “Women Who Run With Wolves unlocked so much for me creatively, inspiring a lot of the purpose, metaphors and repeated literary motifs on the album.”
The album follows the success of singles like ‘GOOD GIRLS’ and ‘BONES’, which introduced the grittier, primal sound and visceral imagery present in the record’s lyrical themes. Cuts like ‘QUICKSAND’ lean more into Stella’s alt-RnB stylings, but implement booming, 808-powered basslines that add to the fierce attitude adopted in handling anxieties head on, whilst ‘DUST’ charts previously unmarked territory, taking a turn into twisted alt-pop.