09 February 2024
Newsdesk
RLY are real like you. Today British girl group RLY release their statement of intent, “Safe & Sound”, a song which is about keeping your girlfriends safe and always looking out for them. Halle, Jess, Kelli, Kyra, and Virginia are five young women and bandmates “figuring this real life shit out” in real time. Released on Darco Recordings, “Safe & Sound” is “about us wanting to protect our inner child and what she would want and what she would be happy with”, says Kelli. RLY conceptualised and co-directed the visualiser, as they wanted to show grounding in each other, when everything around them is moving so quickly.
“Safe & Sound” was written alongside Klas Åhlund (Robyn, Sugababes, Britney Spears, Charli XCX) Michel Zitron (Swedish House Mafia) Sarah Hudson (Katy Perry) and Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa), and documents everything RLY were going through individually, brought together through voice notes and conversations. Their first single “Love Me Or Not” released last year, is a classic power ballad that spoke to Halle when she was going through relationship trouble, “The song questions whether the love you have is real. We sent Kelli some new vocal takes and she produced them at home”. They then dropped the empowering pop anthem “Superpower”, which started life in a session with Jess and Kyra, “Writing this song was the first time I started to feel human again after some mental health issues,” says Jess.” We were thinking about turning weaknesses into strengths,” adds Kyra. Hailing from different parts of the UK spanning Essex, Coventry, Cambridge and East London, RLY are telling real stories about their generation through music they have spent time writing, recording and fine tuning.
Kelli: This song is about us looking out for each other. It’s us wanting to protect our inner child. What would she [inner child] want and what would she [inner child] be happy with. “You’re gonna be safe and sound” is a comforting statement.
Halle: In terms of production we wanted to explore Drum & Bass alongside pop for this song.
Virginia: The visualiser was filmed at a party and shows that through all the chaos in our lives we keep each other grounded. We are friends first.
Kelli: We root each other.
Signing to music legend Darcus Beese’s label Darko Recordings last year, RLY are interconnected by individual chance meetings as solo artists before they became the five-piece they are today. Having lived together, failed together, had their hearts broken together, RLY come together through a shared love of creating and speaking out about their diverse viewpoints. Jess, Kyra and Kelli bring musicality via instrumentation, all self-taught with powerful lyrics and concepts inspired by electric genres they love: from R&B to Hip hop, pop to alternative. Virginia is a force with vocal runs and Halle is a trained dancer - the pair often take fans on their growing social media journey. Recording viral covers of Beyonce’s “Cuff It” and Ariana Grande’s recent “Yes, and?”, RLY’s innate talent and intention is clear: they are direct, wit-smart, inspired by women who have paved the way for them, and respect in the process. Girl groups have been part of the cultural conversation again for the past year, and remain an important force at holding a mirror up to our society. RLY aren’t letting go of it.
