A mix of spiritual and sensual energy pours out of Emeli Sande as she takes control on “Garden” with Jay Electronica and newcomer, Áine Zion.
Released on Thursday (Oct. 12) during Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show, the singer’s demands are clear as she encounters an enticing love. “You make it real, make me feel/ make me feel I’m as strong as steel and as tall as the mountains,” she sings effortlessly. “Talk is cheap/ can you rescue me?/No place I’d rather be than the back of the garden.” Speaking with Mac, the singer opens up about the song’s origins and how Jay Electronica landed on the nearly two-year-old track.
“Garden is one of my favorite songs on the album, and we wrote it about two years ago,” Sandé said. “It was produced by Chris Loco, who was one of the first producers I met when I came to London. This is the first time we could just be free to do something very experimental. Ainé recorded her part in New York. And then I came back to London and that’s when Chris and I got in the studio and the song came. And then we met Jay Electronica that summer so it just kind of felt like destiny the different parts of the songs coming together.” Sandé adds the sound of “Garden” was a new approach in a “very honest” album. “I think people will definitely know exactly who I am once they’ve listened to this album,” she said. “And even though ‘Garden’ is quite different, I still feel like it’s me telling the truth, but kind of showing all sides of me this time.”
Electronica calls for a “Purple Rain” love as Zion’s opening and closing monologues help build the frame of amazing love. Sandé isn’t wasting any time releasing stellar new material. Just last week, the singer released the vulnerable track, “Hurts” with a daring video to match. Her forthcoming album, Long Live the Angels is set to be released Nov. 11.
Check out “Garden” below and her interview with Mac here.