NEWS: ALT-POP VETERAN SURRIJA RETURNS TO HER NATURAL ESSENCE ON A NEW ATMOSPHERIC LP

Written by: Jen Dan

California-based singer-songwriter/musician Surriya originates from the international melting pot of Hong Kong. As a very young age she was classically trained as a pianist, but she was also enthralled by pop music.

Surriya entered the music field as Jane Lui, releasing three albums, racking up viral singles and cover songs, and amassing over 30K subscribers on her YouTube channel. High-profile collabs and SONY syncs followed, but these successes didn’t lead to artistic fulfillment.

So Surriya stepped back from the spotlight to focus on herself and the world around her. A stint in Barcelona led her to look into the art of Pablo Picasso, and what emerged from her explorations was an interest in Picasso’s muses.

These women who subjugated themselves to the ‘great’ artist had their own stories to tell and art to create. Surrija began song-writing again when delving into the narratives of Marie Therese Walter, Francoise Gilot, and Dora Maar.

The resulting self-titled ambient/electronica album, which was produced by Surrija, Sophocles Papavasilopoulos, and Maxwell Gualtieri, was released earlier this month and captures a gentle warmth and psychological depth, as well as a cool abstract quality of Surrija’s vision as an artist.

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