English soul singer Yola is back with her new single “Symphony.” She co-produced it with Sean Douglas (Lizzo, Chris Brown) and Zach Skelton (John Legend, Lil Nas X).
On the funk-rock groove, Yola is ready to flex her soaring vocals for the right man who knows how to set the stage. “Where we going, we can’t come back / Feel the tempo, just like that / Play my heartstrings with both your hands / And I’ll sing like a symphony,” she sings in the chorus.
Speaking on “Symphony,” Yola shares, “I’m exploring the element of surprise in this song, talking about when you’ve suddenly found someone that is not a f—kboy, someone that is not a waste of skin, and actually really dope. And you instantly feel ready to have both a deeper conversation and sexual connection.”
She continues, “After experiencing dating app nightmares in these streets, there is a sense of surprise and profound shock when you meet someone that is a functioning human being, let alone the love of your life, especially in the context of this barrage of nightmares.”
It’s no surprise that Yola says she listened to a lot of classic funk when she was working on “Symphony.” She notes, “Later, I realized that Childish Gambino and I were listening to a lot of the same stuff, particularly the classic funk, syncopated group vocals that Parliament-Funkadelic pioneered. Everyone has a mic, the chorus and the verse are sung in chorus. I was excavating that vibe from my time in Bugz In The Attic, and I’m returning to it again now on this song.”
“Symphony” follows “Future Enemies,” which was released in October. Regarding the latter track, Yola explained, “There is a moment when you realize you’re not going to get on with someone. They haven’t noticed yet, so you have a unique opportunity to disappear from their lives before they ever realize you were destined to be enemies.”
Both songs will appear on her new EP, My Way, which releases Jan. 17, 2025, via S-Curve Records.
According to press materials, My Way is a genre-bending project that will incorporate progressive R&B, ’70 and ’80s soulful pop, ’90s R&B, and neo-soul, “as well as the cornerstone influence of the U.K. broken beats scene, from which Yola emerged, performing with Bugz In The Attic in the mid-2000s.”
My Way is the follow-up to Yola’s 2021 album, Stand For Myself.
Stream Yola’s new song “Symphony” below.
