Exclusive Track Premiere: ‘Marilyn Monroe,’ Sevdaliza

ABOVE: SEVDALIZA. PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAHRA REIJS.

Born in Iran and raised in the Netherlands, singer and producer Sevdaliza made her formal debut earlier this year with her self-released EP The Suspended Kid, and was soon thereafter signed to Warp Records, joining the likes of Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, and Hudson Mohawke. Today, we’re pleased to premiere her latest single, “Marilyn Monroe.” The songstress began writing music shortly after fleeing Tehran at the age of five, and now her natural approach and progression over the years is reflected through raw, hypnotic, and minimal electronic music. “I never force a song,” the 27-year-old tells us. “When the intention is clear, the melodies flow.”

Sevdaliza (who does not reveal her given name) co-produced “Marilyn Monroe” with her collaborator, the Dutch producer Mucky, to be part of a series of songs that seek to represent “a kind of womanhood.” This version of womanhood extends beyond the veil of Marilyn’s quintessential blonde bombshell pop image, suggesting instead the Norma Jeane Mortenson version of Ms. Monroe that teems beneath the icon’s superficial surface. Sevdaliza vulnerably inhabits Marilyn’s personality through the song’s woeful lyrics (“It’s true / in this life / I’ve never been the one / in your eyes / I’ve never been the truth / all you saw / was a broken mirror”), and when paired with the song’s steady bass line, it’s difficult to distinguish Marilyn’s identity from Sevdaliza’s.

“Marilyn channels her fragility because it makes her strong,” Sevdaliza explains. “When she sings, she breaks and there’s nothing left to hide.”

FOR  MORE ON SEVDALIZA, VISIT HER FACEBOOK.