One of the strongest debuts of the year, CD’s Blue Violet is proof that all good things take time.
Our latest Independent Artist of the Week caught up with Ify on Up For It to chat about the four year journey from her first single to the EP’s release.
“I just put so much energy and time into it for the last, over three years, I reckon. So to finally have it out, and know that it honestly just doesn't belong to me anymore, like now I don't have to worry about it. It feels amazing.”
CD is a well-respected figure in Melbourne's burgeoning hip-hop / RnB scene. Specifically, she’s a key member of crew Picked Last: a collective of artists flipping their industry struggles and underdog statuses into collaboration and community building.
“Melbourne's just, like, full of life…there's so many different pockets.”
Much like Picked Last groupmates Agung Mango and MAMMOTH., CD’s music combines live instrumentation and atmospheric, layered production to create a sound both nostalgic, but undeniably modern.
Track ‘S.S;’ oozes almost vaporwave-esque keys, gliding the song along.Standout single ‘Ish You’ shuffles along, teetering alongside CD’s honest challenges: “I need something more official. Really trying to avoid another issue,” before a sudden break into dangerous, nervy breakbeats.
The tracks on Blue Violet are deeply in tune with CD’s inner feelings and moods; complex and punch-drunk, but still confident. Kind of akin to the “ideal weather” CD described to Ify for her dream gig.
‘Warm night, like, hot night – not hot, but, like, really warm, yeah: 25º, 26º.”
‘Love Language’ perhaps best encapsulates this feeling of slow dancing during a humid, dark evening. Unhurried, shifting percussion – but with a massive, sub-laden kick drum that booms in during the chorus, a rolling wave each ten seconds. Blue Violet is about these moments; the prickling of goosebumps, the heat, and the rush.
Words by Lindsay Riley