The British city of Leeds has long been nearly synonymous with the birth of the goth music movement, famed for spawning such artists as The Mission, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, The March Violets and The Sisters of Mercy. As of this week, yet another artist of the dark ilk has come to our attention, and with a new release in hand. As of this Friday, the new EP from composer, producer and overall songstress, Stella Wembley will see the light of day. Titled ‘Wasting My Time’, this four-track offering includes the original track, along with three diverse remixes.
On the verge between darkwave and electro-goth, Stelle Wembley presents a haunting track that fluctuates between danceability and heart pounding shrieks, conjuring primal emotions. This spine-tingling offering qualifies as sorcerer music, a summoning force harnessing the power of repetition and unique female vocals.
Recently emerging on the UK dark synth and gothic scene, Wembley grew up in Italy, having begun her musical career as an opera soprano student at the Royal Conservatory of Music ‘San Pietro a Majella’ in Naples. Moving to London in 2017, she immersed herself in the local music environment, performing at venues in Leeds, Blackpool and London, and eventually founding the independent label Gothic Empire Records.
“The song ‘Wasting My Time’ is about self-confidence, self-empowerment, hope, change and transformation. Whenever there is a traumatic experience, I take the pain and put it into art, creating a song. The lyrics are autobiographical, and reference the difficulties I have gone through in the last 14 years, which I’ve finally overcome,” says Stella Wembley.
“Betrayal, judgment and abandonment have been a constant in my life, and extremely painful, especially because it came from the people closest to me – family, friends- and having to manage this as well as my music career and record label wasn’t easy. This is how this song was born but, above all, it represents a new chapter in my life. Today, I feel powerful, and stronger than ever. I left the past in the past and cut all toxic relationships from my life. I love myself and I am finally free.”
Channeling her lifelong love of dark poetry, horror stories, macabre literature and cinema into music, Wembley leads the listener into a haunted realm, laying bare her soul in a psycho-drama of tragedy and melancholic sensuality. Powerful, yet with a hint of vulnerability, she is like a beautiful siren calling us to join her in her dark universe.
Two of the remixes – ‘Bionic Visions Electro Remix’ and ‘Bionic Visions Dark Ambient Remix’ – were created by Enrico Knob aka Bionic Visions, an Italian music producer, arranger and re-mixer. Wembley says, “These remixes are sublime, I really don’t know which one I prefer between the two. I’m very happy to have met Enrico Knob, who is a fantastic producer and has understood straight away my music and vision. The electro version has fantastic drum samples, which Enrico programmed, and amazing sounds. I love the analog synths. I think this electronic version is perhaps more modern than my “retro” version. The melody stands out a lot, and although the drums are very present the song still remains nostalgic.”
This new EP follows Wembley’s debut EP ‘All That I Need’ (2019) with dark debut video, the ‘Images of Death’ EP (2020) and ‘Loving The Alien’ EP (2022), for which she also released an engaging cabaret-style video.Stella Wembley has collaborated or performed with Lloyd Price (The Frixion), Auger, Inkubus Sukkubus, Zeitgeist Zero, Last July, Rome Burns and Machine Rox. Stella is currently working on her new album ‘The Alchemy of the Dark Arts’, which will feature Michael Ciravolo (a.k.a. Beauty in Chaos) on guitar.
The ‘Wasting My Time’ EP can be had everywhere digitally, including Apple Music and Spotify. On September 29, Stella will hold a release party online, followed by a live show at Leeds’ Eiger Studios on October 29.CREDITS
Lyrics and music by Stella Wembley
Produced, recorded and mixed by Stella Wembley in Leeds
Vocals by Stella Wembley
Synthesizers and sequencer programming by Stella Wembley on Tracks 1 & 2
Tracks 3 & 4 remixed produced and recorded by Enrico Knob / Bionic Visions in Dro, Trento, Italy
Cover photography by Stella Wembley
Graphic design and photo editing by Tony McKormack
Artist photos by Stella Wembley
Explore the dark musings of Stella Wembley
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