The xx’s Romy is back with a new single, ‘Strong’, featuring Fred Again… She produced the song with Fred Again.. and Stuart Price, and it comes with a video directed by Romy’s wife, the filmmaker and photographer Vic Lentaigne. Watch and listen below.
‘Strong’ follows Romy’s 2020 single ‘Lifetime’, her debut solo release, as well as the Fred again.. collaboration ‘Lights Out’. “‘Strong’ came from a moment in my life when I was processing past grief,” Romy explained in a statement. “Whilst writing the lyrics I was thinking about my cousin Luis, we both have the shared experience of our mums passing away when we were young. I recognise in him the same trait I have which is to try and hold emotions down and put on a brave face. The song was a way to connect with these feelings, offer support and ultimately find a sense of release in the euphoria of music. Luis is with me on the single cover and in the music video too which was really special.
Romy continued: “My friendship with Fred means a lot to me, our closeness helps me to feel safe to be honest and vulnerable lyrically and we definitely connect over our love of songwriting and emotions in dance music. It’s amazing and inspiring seeing and hearing what Fred is doing in his solo work and I’m very excited to be releasing this song together.”