Toronto-based, Alberta-born artist Rebecca Emms has shared her debut album as TOVI, I Keep Floating Away.
The new record is a perfect blend of trip-hop, shoegaze, and synthpop. While I Keep Floating Away boasts some breezy, nostalgic melodies, it tackles more melancholic subjects like heartbreak and self-sabotage. For the album, TOVI teamed up with producer and mixer Josh Korody, with mastering from Jesse F Keeler.
“The title of the album I Keep Floating Away refers to my struggle of self-sabotage which I think is just lurking beneath the surface of every song on the album,” Emms explains. “I feel like lyrically I’m constantly toeing the line between sincere and tongue in cheek – recognizing so many of my lows are most likely self-inflicted. But there’s hope in that isn’t there? I’m in control.”
Stream I Keep Floating Away below.
“Along with some synth and guitar, I recorded 100% of the vocals on the album in my bedroom in Toronto,” Emms continues. “There’s a quietness and vulnerability of putting somethin g’to tape’ privately – still in that emotional headspace. The album artowrk I painted matches the element of the music, a quiet lonely selfie in the same room I wrote and recorded a lot of this album.”
I Keep Floating Away features the previously released “Mad Melancholia,” and serves as the follow-up to her 2021 EP, Hard Feelings.
“‘Mad Melancholia’ is a song about mentally spiralling,” TOVI explains. “Those late night/early morning thoughts where it seems like everything is the absolute worst, the ones that keep you from falling asleep. Fading in and out of reality. I wanted the dramatic lyrics with the lullaby-like melody to feel a bit tongue in cheek, expressing this frustration of losing control of my own thoughts.”
