Quickly rising to international prominence with her Run EP already seeing praise from major media outlets including FADER, Nylon, Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit, The Independent, Clash, The 405, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio X, Beats 1 and several others, Eliza Shaddad has one of the more interesting backgrounds I’ve come across this year. Born to Sudanese and Scottish parents, Shaddad is a descendent of a long and proud line of artists and poets, dating back to the 1800s; in fact, her great, great grandfather James Paterson, was one of the Glasgow Boys, a group of artists, who developed a reputation for challenging the styles and subjects of late Victorian Scottish painting.
Run which is slated for release tomorrow through Beatnik Creative was produced by Mercury Prize-nominated producer Chris Bond, mixed by Catherine Marks, best known for her work with Wolf Alice and Foals and mastered by John Davis, best known for his work with Blur, FKA Twigs and Royal Blood and the EP’s latest single “Wars” is a brooding and moody song comprised of layers of shimmering and chiming guitar chords and propulsive drumming paired with Shaddad’s ethereal cooing, gently floating over the stormy mix. Sonically, the song will remind some listeners of PJ Harvey — in particular “Good Fortune” but with a deeper sense of yearning and ache as the song focuses on a dysfunctional relationship that feels much like a battleground.
The recently released music video emphasizes the brooding nature of the song as the video follows Shaddad in an empty garage in an abandoned garage that becomes filled with smoke. Eventually, Shaddad comes across a car, from which smoke is billowing out — and she quickly realizes that the car belongs to someone she knows and loves. And upon realizing it, she falls to her knees in shocked and terrified grief.
