Photo via publicist
In the past couple of years LEILAH has contributed vocals to albums by SBTRKT and Mura Masa, lending the electronic producers a soulful texture to their festival-ready material. The London-based artist has also been steadily building her solo material up, too, dropping the singles "ELEMENT" and "10FT" in 2023. Today she delivers her most assured solo moment to date.
"STOP HURTING MY FEELINGS" deals with a relationship that is running off course, where flashes of pain and anguish interrupt the once-healthy situation. "So good and then you burn me," she sings over Mura Masa's relaxed production. She fools herself into thinking it will all be OK ("Somehow I know it’s worth it) without ever truly losing her sense of self-worth ("Even though I don’t deserve it"). LEILAH's vocal remains calm, even though the pain grows with every new crack that emerges.
The "STOP HURTING MY FEELINGS" video mixes things up a little, taking the idea of a struggling connection and transferring it to the story of two small children who have been separated by school holidays. They try to re-connect via MSN Messenger but no amount of sad face emoticons can make up for what is missing. Eventually., however, school returns and they play freely once again. It's a simple and idyllic scenario, one that feels a long way from the more knotty dynamics at play in the adult realtionships depicted in the song.
In a statement sent to The FADER, LEILAH said: "'STOP HURTING MY FEELINGS' is the theatrical bow on my conceptual mini series ‘Part 1: The Distancing Effect’. With the help of Mura Masa, as conductor, I’ve been able to present the beginnings of who I am. Now, emerged, I’m excited to show who I’m becoming."