It’s been longer than I would like since I have heard a song that has utterly captured my attention from the first listen and resulted in numerous presses of the repeat button. I think we all go through phases where we hear a new song and listen to it endlessly until we grow sick of it and it never want to hear it again, yet sometimes the song is so good that with every listen it just seems to get better. With every listen we hear something new to dig in to and something new to appeal to our senses. The most recent example of this came late last week when I was sent the new single by Californian singer/songwriter, Linka Moja.

It was early in her life that Moja realised that she had a passion for music and that it provided her with a true opportunity for self-discovery and self-identity as she made sense of life through the creative process. A process that brought about the confidence to step forward and play original songs for two of the biggest names in music, Eddie Vedder and Jack Johnson, at a surfer camp run by Kelly Slater (yes, you read that right). It would prove to be a massive moment for Moja and earn her the opportunity to play at the Ohana Festival this year. There is no question that Moja’s varied and interesting experiences with the music scene, and different types of music, have helped her to create a sound and vision that is exclusively her own, and nowhere is this more evidenced than on Blood Orange.

I’m about to try… But I can not articulate the extent to which I love this song.

Where to start?! Ok, so the instrumentation on this track is sublime. I recall being initially somewhat underwhelmed by the opening twenty seconds or so. Sure, it’s a reasonably cool acoustic guitar line, but nothing we haven’t heard before. And then the explosion happens! The story at the heart of the song is an incredibly complicated one, depicting a somewhat messy relationship, and out of nowhere the instrumentation starts to change to reflect this. Almost as though it builds from the calm and clear beginning of a relationship, to the point when the problems start to become apparent. A pulsing bass line, and electric guitar interludes slowly build over the acoustic from the beginning, before aggressive drumming and a confrontational guitar solo hints at the spiraling nature of the relationship on show.

The lyrics throughout this song are also next level. This is ultimately a song about thinking that after a long wait, you have finally met that person that is about to change your life, and for it to not transpire as you had hoped. The sentiments expressed throughout are painfully relatable and beautifully conveyed to leave the listener in no doubt about the situation that is unfolding and how Moja feels about it. Everyone will be able to relate to the idea of being madly in love with someone, but ultimately knowing that you are fighting a losing battle to maintain the interest of that person and to keep them in their life. This sense that what was real for you, was nothing to them. And throughout the song we witness, with almost painful clarity, our protagonist trying to come to terms with it.

“Love me ’til the morning because it hurts to be the one who’s heading for the curb”

The lyrics are so FUCKING good in this song that I just want to post them all and it’s proving really difficult to pick the ones that I like the most… But I’ll try anyway (just as well it’s a short song)… Throughout the whole song, Moja uses her lyricism to rapidly jump between the elation of being in love and the bitterness of knowing that her feelings are being wasted on the other person. There are moments when an anger at the situation emerges, before the protagonist seems to be trying to justify or sugar coat the situation for themselves. A sentiment that is represented brilliantly by the organised chaos of the instrumentation.

“Waiting, wishing, wanting for your love

But don’t think I could ever be enough

To satisfy your raging taste for blood

But maybe that’s just the way we love”

The above almost demonstrating a glorious homage to the wonderful Jack Johnson song of a similar name (Sitting, Waiting, Wishing), another song about being part of a not entirely functional relationship.

This is the best song that I have heard so far this year, and honestly it probably won’t be beaten. Moja looks set to become one of the most exciting new artists to emerge in coming years. This is going to be fun.

MK