Alissic has spoken to NME about her hypnotic new single ‘Concrete’, and shared news of a forthcoming EP. Check out the song below, along with our full interview with the Brazilian-born avant-pop artist.
Released today (March 7), ‘Concrete’ marks the first new music from Alissic (real name Alissa Salls) since 2022, ushering in a bold new chapter after parting ways with her former label Ministry Of Sound.
The news comes with the announcement of her next EP, which is due for release at some point this spring via CLASSII Records. Speaking to NME about first taste ‘Concrete’, Salls explained that the song had been sitting around for over a year.
“The song has such a nostalgic feeling to it,” she said. “It’s a dreamy pop thing that I just love so much. The fact that I made it a year ago and still love it makes me feel [good] – I think it’s actually timeless!”
Opening up about the meaning of the single, Salls told NME how it explores the materialism we see in the world around us – exemplified by the chorus’ top line: “Everything was pure but now it’s concrete.”
“I tried to be quite visual about it – how we’re cutting down nature and everything is becoming material and concrete,” she explained. “I love how lyrics I wrote ages ago are still so relevant with what’s happening in the world right now – not just with the environment, but also with politics.”
She added: “I was letting go and forgetting [my] connection with nature, but also seeing other people’s masks falling down and there being no empathy. Once we disconnect, we end up being bound to the material matrix world. We forget the wisdom of nature. I think there’s just so many meanings [to the song].”
Read our full interview below, where Alissic also talked about the wider direction of her “darker” EP, envisioning the ‘Concrete’ video with her husband Oli Sykes (who helped on “lots of songs”), designing the artwork for Bring Me The Horizon‘s latest album, and an upcoming collaboration with AU/RA.
NME: Hello Alissa. Where in the world are you right now?
Alissic: “I’m in Sheffield. I haven’t been doing much – I don’t think there is much to do in England sometimes, apart from walks! I just get really focused on the craft and making stuff, so I don’t really even go outside.”
Did you attend the BRITs with Oli and Bring Me the Horizon?
“It was good! I don’t drink, so those things are sometimes like, ‘Oh, am I the only one sober here?’”
How exciting is it to be back releasing music again after nearly three years?
“I’ve been waiting for so long – I have a bank full of music. The EP is almost like a debut of my artistic side – because I’m definitely somewhere else, musically. I wanted to create a story behind it, like the birth of something… it’s like a little egg and all the songs are inside.”
You mentioned society forgetting the “wisdom of nature” – have you always been connected to nature?
“I grew up in São Bento, Brazil, in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cows. In my childhood, I don’t think I spent much time inside a house, to be honest. I would be out with friends and playing football. I really wanted to go to a big city and experience all these things, but that’s what made me more connected now than ever – I experienced the lack of nature. I had to experience the other side so I could be grateful for what I had.”
Sonically, what were you going for on ‘Concrete’?
“I went more to the realm of dance, there’s more energetic beats. I wanted the vocals to sound a little ethereal, but also feel robotic and mechanical, because of the message of the song. Then, with the middle eight, I just created something quite dreamy – almost like you’re breaking out of the spell of being a stone and a piece of concrete in the matrix.”
You told us your early material was inspired by 2000s pop that sounded unusual – what was your vision for this EP?
“Oh my God, that’s so long ago. I’m trying to explore a little bit more of a darker sound. I think it speaks better with my essence. I’ve been trying to adapt to what feels really raw and real inside of me, and I’ve been realising that it’s being a bit more dark, pushed to a little bit more of a rock vibe.”
Oli directed the music video, while you oversaw the whole creative direction – what was your vision?
“For us, it’s really interesting when you can hear the music better when you’re watching something – if it’s edited with the pace of the beat. The concept we tried to create, in the video, there’s these two bunnies that almost work for this corporation. At first I’m a bird being captured into the matrix, but then we’re all the same – I’m just corrupted by it. It’s less of a story, more of a vibe.”
How was the process of designing the artwork for Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Post Human: Nex Gen’ album last year?
“Oli usually comes with the idea for what he wants, and then it’s just me for a really long time trying to put it on paper – because he knows what he wants. It’s just a lot of sketches. We both love putting little hidden messages and codes. Sometimes we make some things that are almost in the future, that connect so well with something else, it’s crazy. Things become part of the story, without you even realising. You see kids getting tattoos of it, making toys of it – it’s just really, really crazy that a drawing that you did becomes that big.”
Do you still spend much time drawing and painting – have any other bands tapped you up for artwork?
“I try to paint most of the time. I had a few experiences like going to the Amazon rainforest, connecting with indigenous communities. I decided to create this project called ERFLING to sell some of my artwork and donate to [those communities] to help them build schools and stuff like that. My art comes from such a non-egocentric place – I just do it because I love it – so why not put that into service?
“The indigenous are the most pure people I’ve ever met. The kids just want to hug, they’re so curious, and they want to talk to you. It just feels like the right thing, being able to help out with my art.”
Is Oli, or anyone else, involved with the rest of the EP?
“Oli helped me out with lots of songs, but I got another song I’ve got featuring AU/RA. I love her music and she’s really sick, so it’s such a crazy thing that I got her to sing on one of my songs.”
What are your long-term ambitions for Alissic?
“Mostly, just making art that feels real to me, without any pressure of trying to make music for that invisible crowd that you have in your head.”
Alissic’s new single ‘Concrete’ is out now. The official music video premieres at 6pm GMT tonight (March 7) – watch above.