Xelli Island, the moniker of Lianna Vanicelli, hails from Detroit and documents her experiences as a creative in that city through her music. Informed by the culture of The Philippines and of her home city, she writes music with wisdom and wistfulness.
Her new EP ‘Streets Of A Spiral’ showcases exciting new sounds for the artist, showcasing her diversity and songwriting talent. The synth work throughout the project, alongside Xelli’s vocals make this record one you will keep coming back to. Soul, indie-pop, ballad are all genres that have an influence here, all performed with emotion and passion.
Speaking about the EP, she says: “Streets Of A Spiral is an EP about finding the way back to yourself after years of relationships that led you astray. I imagine each relationship is a little spiral on the greater path of life. They are winding and endless and hypnotising, but whether you decide to travel upward or downward determines everything. It’s so easy to get sucked into the orbit of people you love, and sometimes it’s tricky and terrible and you have to drive away. So this is an EP about getting in my beloved car and driving away. Away from romance and its consuming nature, away from the pressures of finding a partner and settling down, and finally cutting loose all of the tension and strings that form within the world of intimacy and relationships.
It’s five songs that were written on a very winding but familiar path. The path of losing yourself in lust and love with someone that isn’t right for you, and then the process of finding self-worth and joy again, entirely on your own. Something that I believe is Universal but is also a privilege that not everyone gets to experience. To me, my car has always been an incredible source of freedom. The way you can just get in and go anywhere you decide. And most of the time it’s just parked outside of your house, but the option is always there."
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