The second single from the newly launched record label, endearingly called Sick, has been unveiled. The song, “Scream Your Name,” is a collaboration between Nick Valensi of the Strokes, producer Mr Hudson, and singer-songwriter Aziya.
A lovelorn jaunt backed by thumping rhythms and a haunting distorted guitar, Aziya calls the song an “ode to the push and pull of a relationship you absolutely shouldn’t be in.” In a statement, she said, “When Nick, Ben and I went into the studio, I genuinely told them I just wanted to experiment and explore, without feeling like there was some huge professional agenda behind the song.”
Lyrically, Aziya wanted the “Scream Your Name” to “feel ironically fun too, despite describing a relationship that’s extremely unhealthy.” She added, “I think this song is the saxophones or the calm before the storm, that just gets louder and louder until you either finally call it quits or go in again for round 10.”
Sick — founded by Carré Callaway (aka musician Queen Kwong), Darian Zahedi, and Nick Hinman — released its first single, “PULS.zip,” in September, which brought together Lee Kiernan from IDLES and Tokyo-based artist RIS-707.
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Sick aims to bring both established and emerging artists across different generations, genres, and cities for collaborative singles without restrictive long-term contracts. The label welcomes artists both independent and signed. “I want Sick to foster a community and a scene,” Callaway recently told Flood Magazine. “I want it to help get us back to grass roots, to find agency and support from fellow artists, and realize complaining isn’t helping. As artists, we’ve got to save ourselves and each other.”
“People keep asking me how I know Sick is going to work,” she said, “and I keep saying, ‘I don’t know. It’s the music industry. Nobody can know anything these days.’ But we’re artists and every good artist has to take risks. We’re shooting our best shot with Sick.”
