Opening with spectral synths, warm chords and an intimate vocal, the debut single from Desperately Seeking Suki wears its heart proudly on its sleeve.
Desperately Seeking Suki are sibling duo Natassa Zoë and Danny Pugh, who also goes by the pseudonym SIG SALI. Whilst Danny is based in Bristol, Natassa divides her time between Australia and the UK. The pair started making music together remotely, sending their work back and forth around the globe, before reuniting to launch their debut EP.
With influences that include Wolf Alice, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Arcade fire, Desperately Seeking Suki have created a sound that has a distinct emotional urgency. Natassa’s spoken word performance in the verse betrays a sense of feeling deeper that the deadpan delivery might suggest, before removing the gloves in a chorus that is immediate and insistent. In that moment, she declares an unconditional love for Suki, who gets billing here as the song’s title, but also a permanent fixture within the band name.
Whether Suki is a real person or not is left to the listener to decide, but the duo confirm that they represent the experience of meeting someone who truly sees you, and enables you to be yourself. As Natassa describes, ‘Suki is about embracing the light and dark in yourself and finding love that holds through the chaos.’
It’s a promising and exciting debut, and I’m looking forward to hearing more. Check out Suki below, and add to your streaming service of choice here: