The song was written during a bleak January, when the artist kept having nightmares about water. About the track Ford says “I wrote Sink or Swim in a bleak January when I kept having nightmares about water. Every night I fought against the waves and during the day I was sleep deprived, feeling lost and stuck in rut. Ultimately I decided I needed to make a change and the song is the journey to that decision – my only two choices, in the nightmares and in life, were to sink or swim.
I wanted the production to be more upbeat than the lyrics, but keeping a glitchy, dreamy, underwater quality in places. The track was co-written with Jess Pascal from Morning Midnight who also co-produced alongside Sam Stevenson. We’re all big MUNA fans so a lot of the inspiration came from there and The Japanese House. I think it’s a great intro for what to expect coming later in 2023.”
Lydia’s passion for music started at a young age when she was surrounded by it in her home. As a teenager, she joined various pop-punk bands, and after university, she began working for Irish TV channel TV3. However, after moving to Brooklyn, Lydia rediscovered her love for songwriting, posting demos on SoundCloud, which led to her sharing her own music.
By 2021’s track “Feel It For You,” Lydia had developed her sound, leading to airplay in Ireland and the UK and extensive editorial playlists across Spotify, press coverage from Billboard, Earmilk and Uproxx, and syncs in ‘Made In Chelsea’. Her reputation blossomed in the live arena too, with highlights to date including sets at Ireland Music Week 2022, Other Voices and We’ve Only Just Begun Festival.
Following “Feel It For You,” Faction Records got in touch, leading to a deal with their imprint, Bloom Records, and her debut album, “Faking It,” is set for release later this year. Although Lydia initially put off making an album, she collaborated remotely with producer Sam Stevenson during Berlin’s lockdown in 2021. The resulting songs were “a bit more indie and a lot more personal,” and Lydia committed to a bigger project that would represent her more as an artist.
Lydia’s songwriting is informed by her own experiences, and “Sink or Swim” reflects the theme of struggling to get one’s life together in one’s twenties. The song is an instant earworm, and its lyrics capture the feeling of being completely overwhelmed and realizing that you need to figure things out. Lydia’s debut album promises to be a treat for fans, and “Sink or Swim” is a fantastic introduction to what can be expected from this talented artist.
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