Evie Asio is a London-based musician who has developed a unique sound over a series of experimental projects, including her 2015 EP Conclusion and the Songs From Home YouTube series. She released the debut single “Beautiful Love” in 2019, which led to her being named as “one to watch” by Premier Gospel.
Her new album Contending and Contention is a nine-track concept album dealing with the themes of struggle and self-reflection that she has explored in personal battles. The first two singles received international radio play, with 2021’s “Available” named as China Moses’ Late Night Track of the Week on Jazz FM. Her most recent single, “Turning Time,” was featured on BBC6 Music in February.
Contending and Contention was four years in the making and blends genres seamlessly, traversing blues, gospel, electronic, R&B and soul to paint an emotionally-charged landscape with many different viewpoints. “This album is an eclectic love letter to the music that impacted my musical journey,” Asio says, “as much as it is a love letter to the bold yet scared Evie that existed in her early 20s. I called this album Contending and Contention because it is the story of my fight for peace and acceptance.”
The album is a harmonic, vocal and sonic journey, held together by its message – and Evie Asio’s distinct sound.
“Introduction” sets the tone with its reflective melodies, pauses and harmonies, tempered with gentle vocal underlines which add depth and warmth. The track switches into “In the Middle,” which is about expectations and being our worst enemy as we find fault with ourselves – but also the contradiction and inner strength which we can find. Asio’s vocal is warm, honed, and powerful. When she sings over pared-back accompaniment, she is exposed vocally, but she has the voice to take up the challenge and deliver a spot-on, note-perfect line.
“Available” starts with atmospheric electronica over which Asio drops a glorious vocal line where she talks of those little things that make a difference. Her wishes for a world with less distance, resistance and indifference. The track builds under her with instruments joining harmonies in the vocal lines to create a powerful delivery. The strong R&B/soul vibes here interlink and weave together to create a gorgeous rising and falling in the dynamics. A gorgeous number.
“From Here” tells of difficult times when difficult times and decisions. The vocal sits over a driving, constant beat, and this track is a delicious celebration of Evie Asio’s range, supported by a well-developed rhythm and electronic backdrop. Toward the finish, Asio imparts the words of Psalm 46, Verses 1-3: “We will not fear, yet the earth gives way, and the mountains be moved to the heart of the seas though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”
“Pendulum” is a powerful and moving, a great R&B-influenced song with soul overtones, wrapped in the warm vocals which Asio delivers with panache and style. This is a well-developed, multi-layered track with a strong, driving bass line and a beat which grabs the listener by the ears. Standout. “Love is Low” is sultry, a little sassy, and also a little sad as the singer is trying to work out what went wrong but reminds the subject they can call her when they’re feeling down – and she will find a way to make it right. It is also about the strength of character needed at times: “I had to swallow my pride, a deepness that roared within me, now my vision’s pretty clear, and I’m still standing here.”
“Turning Time” is about the moment you realize change is needed. (“You ain’t seen the best of me yet, and I ain’t seen the best of you.”) It is about running, searching for an answer but also finding strength in yourself. Evie Asio’s voice is emotive, sensual and quite beautiful on this number. “Heaven Minded” begins with a piano introduction which is joined by strings and other instruments in a multi-layered, uplifting sound wall that envelopes the listener with drifts and deluges of beauty. The guitar then solos, giving a gentle, balladic theme over background noises of human children and life.
The number segues into “Imperfect People,” which is about unrealistic expectations: “The image that I have built, I am finally taking it down. Right now, I see you as you are, and my innocence drowns.” As she encourages us to let go of these images we have in our minds, Asio makes this a very special and emotional number, her voice trembling as she says she is afraid to open her heart again. But as Asio says amid lovely harmonies, she was “made to love imperfect people, so she was made to love people like you.”
There is a warmth to the vocals, and a quality in the numbers throughout Evie Asio’s Contending and Contention. This is simply a superb album.
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