London singer-songwriter WILDES has shared her new single and ‘manifesto for love’ – “Lay Upon Me”.

The bewitching new track is lifted from WILDES’ new EP ‘Subsidence’, out 15th March via Apollo. WILDES is the recording project of London based Anglo-Irish musician and producer Ella Walker, who released her debut album ‘Other Words Fail Me’ (featuring her collaboration with The Flaming Lips “True Love”) in January 2023 to a wave of critical acclaim.

New EP ‘Subsidence’ finds Walker going back to her roots, self-producing and recording the entire project from her flat in Dalston, recruiting frequent collaborator Matt Wiggins (Adele, Florence and the Machine) to mix the EP. “The EP centres around the abrupt end of a loving relationship that left me quite devastated and shocked,” WILDES explains.

New single “Lay Upon Me” is captivating in its sparsity. Guided by soft piano chords and pillowy percussion, Ella Walker’s magisterial voice and her intensely personal rumination on the minimum demands of love [“Lay upon me this honesty, you see I call it love / Maybe you’ve done it differently but I still need to trust”] are elegantly delivered amidst warped string sections as the song swells to its close.

Speaking more on the release of “Lay Upon Me”, WILDES said:

“Lay Upon Me is a manifesto for love, laying down my wants and needs. While there is underlying fear and delicacy, and almost a disclaimer that I need to be handled gently, it’s a hopeful and romantic declaration that I am proud to make.”

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