D-day! Brussels-based artist Adja releases her debut album, two years after her well-received EP IRONEYE - and what a ride it is!
This new contemporary body of work showcases 11 stories, each telling their story of the impact our capitalistic society has on our most intimate moments: from dystopian neo-soul tales of Deliveroo-drivers being stalked by telemarketers (both of them selling/delivering literal ‘hope and dreams’), to re-imagined jazz standards and classical songs about conditional friendships, based on time and money. We even get her take on the ‘stick-it-to-the-man-sing-along-rock-song’, which she called ‘Sucking on my Emphatitties’. And then we have the title song ‘Golden Retrieve Her’ which is as much an accumulation of feelings as of musical curiosities.
“ ‘Golden Retrieve Her’ is a wordplay on wanting to retrieve my kindness in a violent social system. Simultaneously, it is criticizing the fact that we, the masses, are often asked to either be naive or pretend we are. All of this accumulated in a visual image of what our social system considers ‘the perfect, obedient nuclear family’: a kind couple with 2.4 children, a house in the suburbs and… a Golden Retriever.” ~ Adja
Serious and concrete topics, wrapped up in a symbolic package, as Adja values both straightforwardness, critical thinking and, paradoxically, a bit of mysticism. For her visual artwork, she created four, self-made tarot cards, that represent the themes on the album.
Musically, this album contains as much variety as song titles, as Adja continues to explore her own depths as an artist and musician, together with her partner-in-crime, guitarist, composer and jazz-arranger Alexis Nootens. She collaborated with music producer Adam Scrimshire, who was featured in the Guardian as UK’s one of three most significant soul music producers alongside Swindle and Inflo, and renowned Belgian producer, mixer and musician Koen Gisen, who both mentored her into deepening her own productional skills. Last but not least, she gathered 13 musicians to deliver the sound she brings to her album, among them her 5 steady band members and 8 studio musicians from all over Europe. As we said: it promises to be quite a ride.
‘Golden Retrieve Her’ is out today Sdban Ultra, available on all streaming platforms, vinyl, and CD. The vinyl edition includes 4 self-designed tarot cards, each tied to specific tracks and representing the album's central themes. Listen & order here.
Adja - Live dates:
1 May 2025 – Hnita, Heist-op-den-Berg (BE) – Info
2 May 2025 – Les Aralunaires, Arlon (BE) – Info
9 May 2025 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BE) – Info
11 May 2025 – Jazz à Liège, Liège (BE) – Info
23 May 2025 – Brussels Jazz Weekend, Brussels (BE) – Info
8 June 2025 – Jazz Middelheim, Antwerp (BE) – Info
24 June 2025 – Nica Jazz Club, Hamburg (DE) – Info
4 July 2025 – Jazz à Semur, Semur-en-Auxois (FR) – Info
19 July 2025 – Gent Jazz, Gent (BE) – info
23 August 2025 – Jazz op de Hei, Kalmthout (BE) – Info