H2L

Loie’s “H2L (How 2 Love)” eases in like someone sparking up a hard convo - quiet, careful, and stripped of pretense. Jake Edwards keeps the arrangement clean. Soft rimshots tapping out a heartbeat and warm piano chords stretching into the air, light enough to hover. Hi-hats tick double-time, keeping the tempo alive while everything else drifts. All the while, thick, plucky bass notes hold down the verses, stretching out when the bridge hits. Lastly, strings and trumpets curl through the chorus, golden but restrained, while ghosted harmonies and faint congas flicker in the background.

The London-based singer moves through it all like she’s sorting out her thoughts in real-time. “I’m not used to the love that you provide / But something about the way you are with me that makes me wanna come home.” The words and their meaning land soft but sure. She processes her feelings, line by line, in a whisper-close tone. You can almost picture her speaking to an on-again/off-again lover from the other side of a cracked door. The chorus loops “How to love” like a mantra repeated until it feels real.

Loie fuels the quiet momentum of her latest release by stepping onto the iluvlive & ERNB BLOOM: Woman’s Day Special stage this March alongside our label artist Izabel, Akemi Fox, and Natalie Lindi. Hopefully “H2L” offers a glimpse of what that performance will deliver; an intimate and honest set that wraps the crowd in the same grace that this track carries.