Rising artist, Sofía Valdés has released her intoxicating new single, “Easy,” today via Warner Records. Mixing downtempo coolness with a touch of dark-pop, the Panamanian artist expresses the raw frustration of trying to find a home in a new country. This theme runs throughout her forthcoming Silvia EP, which documents the extreme emotions Valdés experienced when immigrating to the U.S.
“I learned from my dad that my great-grandmother was very rebellious for her time—she always spoke her mind, and had the strength to do whatever she wanted,” she explains. On “Easy,” Sofía embraces that confidence, laying out her anxieties over a spiky bed of potent breakbeats. “I picked a fight just for kicks,” she slyly coos over an undulating guitar loop before a rush of fuzz flutters in. “Giving it all just to take it back,” she adds with a jab, her voice doubled up to hypnotizing effect. Throughout, Sofía demonstrates her extraordinary vocal command, her tone cycling from sardonic to soulful to breathtakingly fragile with absolute grace.
Silvia—named after her great-grandmother Silvia De Grasse, a famed Panamanian singer who performed with Louis Armstrong—was co-produced by Michael Uzowuru (known for his work on groundbreaking albums like Rosalía’s Motomami and SZA’s Ctrl), and features in-demand musicians like Tyler Johnson (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), Carter Lang (SZA, Lykke Li), John Hill (Florence + the Machine, Tinashe), and legendary Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai.
“I wrote this song at a time when I was asking so many people for help, but there was no help to be had,” she says of “Easy.” “It felt like one of the worst betrayals of my life, and had a severe effect on my mental health. People would tell me things like, ‘Oh, just go sleep it off,’ which was a weird thing to say when I didn’t have a house to sleep in. I kept telling them, ‘That’s easy for you to say,’ and that’s how the song came to me.”
“Easy” comes on the heels of the dreamy “Midnight Freakout”—also inspired by her life-changing move to America. Both tracks are on Sofía’s forthcoming five-song EP Silvia, her most exquisitely realized work to date. It all sets the stage for a momentous 2023 for Sofía, following last year’s emotional bedroom-pop gems “Heart of Glass” and “Broken” [feat. Pink Sweat$]. The singles—along with 2021’s acclaimed EPs In Bloom and Ventura—have received a long list of critical acclaim from the likes of NPR, W Magazine, Interview Magazine, NYLON, Ones To Watch, and more for her beautifully original blend of bossa nova, folk, and pop. With “Easy,” Sofía continues to expand on that sound while remaining boldly vulnerable in her words and delivery.