Despite the significant impact of her breakthrough debut solo single, "Didn't Mean To" back in 2018, Belgian-British pop singer-songstress Moli still maintains her great strides into the fore with each prevailing release. Now onto her sophomore EP, Préface, she continues to discover her creative identity regardless of the distinction of her previous releases, resulting in an era and language blending, timeless slice of pop perfection; of which the lead single, "Insomnia" wholly encapsulates.
Speaking to the progression in her sound in a statement, she outlines that, "Préface is a result of my musical journey over the last few years. Finding myself and my musical identity in some sort of middle ground between the pop and dance songs that I write for other artists and the more indie artists that I personally like to listen to."
Along with this progression, more of her identity is naturally woven into each track, with her bilingual British-Belgian heritage markedly impacting her songs in not only aesthetics but language too. "I also wanted to start adding french in my songs for them to feel more authentic to me," she continues. "My world growing up in Belgium and speaking french is very different from the one when I’m with my family or in Berlin speaking English. I wanted to bring those 2 perspectives into my music."
"Insomnia" opens with a vulnerable train of thought, before fluidly switching gears and language in mesmeric fashion. A distinctly nostalgic groove sustains her tender, honeyed vocal as it dynamically sojourns throughs subtly fluctuating delivery and moods. Flickering between English and French, it's at times tough to notice the switch due to the enchantingly cascading melodies. A hybrid of more downtempo grooving pop, and contemplative R&B, it unifies the sounds of her inspiration with a more contemporary approach, crafting an experience between timeless and timely.
Speaking to the nocturnal and introspective lyricism behind "Insomnia," Moli elucidates, "I wrote Insomnia while I was in London. At the time I was staying in a youth hostel which is always a bit of a hit and miss scenario. It was summer, the room was super hot so we also needed to keep the window open and people were being super noisy outside… I couldn't sleep at all. I was lying there tossing and turning all night and anxiety crept up on me. I went down a rabbit hole of thoughts about life and had a little existential crisis. I was in the studio for the next few days and felt inspired by that experience. Insomnia was born and it all came naturally… this is the result."
