Helefonix new release is a double A-sided single of ‘Who Do You Wanna Be’ and ‘So Lost’, a first taste of her forthcoming album The Awakening. Helefonix is the musical alter ego of Helen Meissner, someone who despite only turning to music during lockdown, has already had airplay on Radio 3 and 6Music and scored a viral hit when she teamed up with the inimitable Jackie Weaver from Handforth Parish Council’s on the track ‘Jackie Weaver’s Kicked Him Out’. But as much as Helen has a larger-than-life personality and a huge sense of fun, The Yin and Yang of Helefonix embraces everything from the strobe lights and mirror balls of club anthems to the deeply resonant tracks such as we have here.
‘Who Do You Wanna Be’ is a swirling mist of strings and looped vocals over a pulsing heartbeat, all dressed up in a lush cloak of reverb. It manages to hold time in suspension which makes its running time of just over 2 minutes feel longer, a beautiful illusion in the same way a marble seems to hold the universe in it’s small sphere. It’s a held breath, a prayer by the bedside and it defies gravity. The title could suggest trepidation, but the mood is optimistic. Helen says “a process of awakening or self-discovery can happen more than once in a lifetime. A time where we question our self-identity and seek greater alignment with our true selves.”
‘So Lost’ sits somewhere between Kate Bush and the quieter side of the Art of Noise. It has a gentle warmth that embraces the subject matter of how we can feel lost in our lives, “A feeling of disquiet and disorientation can be the first sign. A dis-ease when contemplating the day-to-day aspects of our life” as Helen says. She is always keen to promote good mental health, the power of talking to others and embracing the good in life “feelings of liberation and joy can appear unexpectedly and as we learn to trust these new sensations, they will more frequently replace the unwelcome feelings”.
Helefonix is a force for positivity, not only through her music but as a fierce supporter of other new and emerging artists. These two tracks bode well for the album The Awakening which is released on February 28 and can be ordered via her Bandcamp page.
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Review by Paul F Cook
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