Having first picked up the guitar at the tender age of 15, asia hasn’t put it down in the five years since. A couple of years after her four-track EP Choked Up, she is now readying the release of her debut album, which is set to be released in 2021.

asia’s debut single “Church” was an intimate look at spirituality and death. Since then, her songwriting has been reimagined. This is no coincidence, as her EP “concludes the end of an era. The end of childhood. The overwhelming finding that all stories are not entitled to their happy ending, and that it is difficult to escape your demons.” To open this new chapter, she recently unveiled “Cold Sweat,” a track that saw her explore new rhythms and structures, a theme that has carried over to her brand new single “Something to Do”. As she grows up, so too does her music and the themes that she addresses.

“Something to Do” is an emotive journey, one that chronicles a lost love. Through cracked vocals that echo with enticing fragility, asia takes us through the various stages of her grief that’s come at the hands of a broken relationship.

To a backdrop of swelling strings, solemnly plucked electric guitars and sparse drums, asia opens her broken heart. With poetic and cinematic lines such as “and one day you’ll call me up/and tell me that you’re getting married/in twenty years we’ll meet up/keep holding back the tears”, she outlines a feeling that’s common when having just experienced a breakup, one of pure loss and emptiness.

The combination of asia’s voice and the delicately expanding soundscape creates a real bittersweetness. Her voice is so soothing, yet the events she describes and the feelings she articulates are inherently heartbreaking. Frankly delivered yet full of soul and meaning, asia shows a wisdom beyond her 20 years and has created an introspective track that resonates universally. Listen to “Something to Do” and check our photoshoot with asia in one of her favourite places in Brussels below.

Ruminating on the inspiration for the track, Asia explained, “Cold Sweat is a song about melancholy. I wrote it over the summer, finishing it in September, right after my friends left for college in different cities or countries. All those summer memories became violent, they were the constant reminder of what I had lost, a blessed time that I could never get back.” The 20-year-old singer-songwriter does an excellent job confronting the universally relatable emotion of loneliness that occurs when friends leave for better places without you, the phantom limb that aches when those you used to see often aren’t around anymore. She sings, “With empty bottles on the tables / My life passing by / No control / Reaching for a hand that is not there.” The hints towards the inescapable nature of these feelings, with Asia promising, “If I think about it, I’ll crash / If I dream about it, I’ll die.” “Cold Sweat” succeeds at portraying the devastating side of growing older as Asia encapsulates how it feels when the walls begin to close in on one’s youth.

Setting aside the expert musicianship and deep-cutting lyrics, there is one element that will certainly keep listeners returning to Asia‘s music: her inimitable voice. Though she easily gains a spot next to great contemporaries like Phoebe Bridgers, Angel Olsen, or Lucy Dacus, simple comparisons don’t do Asia‘s voice justice. Her voice constantly toes the line between angelic and ghostly, resulting in a serene vocal quality that almost transcends this earthly world. In short, her music is addictive. Get hooked with “Cold Sweat” now, at the link below.

Out now on Lanewood Records, “Church” from singer-songwriter Asia is perhaps the saddest track of the season. Asia‘s music simulates crying in the rain by creating a soundgasm of melancholic vocals overlayed on top of swirling, slug-like guitars. The lack of bass or drums creates a vacuous sparseness that accurately sets the mood for Asia‘s devastating lyrics. She starts off, “I just want to go to church / So God can tell me what to do / But if I’m being honest / I’m too scared… to believe in anything.” As the song builds and transitions from depressing to disturbing, the track finds itself in an almost spooky place. The words reflect this shift, with Asia singing, “Light a candle for me / I’ll be playing in the graveyard / Burying my dreams / Deep down next to my dad’s.” As the track takes on a dissonant, screeching quality, the song takes a very welcome ghostly turn before Asia brings it back to earth.

Though she’s based in Belgium, Asia seems to draw inspiration from the American indie scene, with her music edging into Midwestern emo territory. Her sound bears a striking resemblance to the likes of former Pity Sex lead-singer Britty Drake, even tapping into the pensiveness of Big Thief‘s Adrianne Lenker and nearing the vocal depth of the late Dolores O’Riordan. Suffice to say: Her integrity as a singer goes without question, meaning that her vocals don’t need to hide behind fancy production tricks. Compared to a rising music community that seems to rely heavily on electronic embellishments and unnecessary synths, Asia‘s grounded approach is a welcome one.

While “Church” centers around “loneliness, death [and] even alcohol abuse,” the song never falls too far over into the abyss. The religious undertones and Asia‘s ability to make light of darkness reveals a portrait of a searching person, not a sulking one. More than youthful ennui, Asia is able to communicate a grasp of the severity of existing within the modern era with words that reach beyond her years. The repeated phrase of the chorus– “I’m so altered”– touches on the religious aspects throughout the song, playing with the homophone alter/altar. Is she under the influence of alcohol, or a higher power? No matter the answer, “Church” is certainly a spiritual experience– and a fantastic first showing from a burgeoning Belgian talent.