Hamburg’s Kraków Loves Adana share pulsing and raw new single “Young Again”

Synth-pop duo Kraków Loves Adana offer up their latest single "Young Again" via Italians Do It Better.

Forming in 2006 after eyeing each other for months at the same nightclubs in Germany – a time which seems unfathomably distant from the present – Kraków Loves Adana have steadily been producing synth-heavy bangers. With four albums under their belt, the duo have just released their first single of 2020 “Young Again”.

After “Follow The Voice,” their sophomore track on Italians Do It Better sees the pair return with their stoic synthesisers and driving guitars to make. There’s a relentlessness that’s created, culminated by Deniz Çiçek and Robert Heitmann’s careful craftsmanship that’s been honed over their 14-year partnership.

“Young Again” possesses a similar polished yet emotionally raw feel that’s found on much of Robyn’s discography; more than just another electro synth-pop track, it’s a demonstration of vulnerability. Yet Kraków Loves Adana‘s lyrics don’t take away from the thrumming energy of the song, the pulsating beat that makes it so catchy.

Deniz Çiçek’s voice has a gorgeous tenor that naturally creates a gravitas to her words. When she sings, we listen. It’s reminiscent of Anna Calvi in its haunting ability, the calm and knowing drawl that has a gravity of its own. The melancholic edge that her voice brings lends itself wonderfully to the meaning of the track.

Of “Young Again”, Kraków Loves Adana explained that it “reminisces about youth and the time when anxiety, overthinking and unhealthy relationships were holding you down. Memories might be dark and painful, but you realize how strong you emerged from the experience – with that bittersweet understanding that you’ll never be young again.”

The accompanying video which was filmed in Malmö – and directed by Ebba G. Ågren from the band Wy – follows lead singer Deniz Çiçek as she storms through the darkened streets, singing to camera in suave power suits. There’s a reflective element to the video however, beyond these open displays of certainty and bravado. We see Çiçek holding up a mirror to her face, playing with her reflection; she flares her nostrils, blows patterns with her breath onto the mirror and sings directly to herself. All these little moments peeling back the layer of certainty and allowing us to see anxieties underneath.

Rachel Chandler

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