Romy: 2023

As a member of The xx with her friends and bandmates, Jamie xx and Oliver Sim, Romy has written songs that eddy and drift with delicate beauty, entangled in dialogue and space. But for her long-gestating debut solo album Mid Air, out now on Young, she drew upon a different side of her music, one steeped in the euphoria of DJing, dance, queer clubs, and her love of artists like Kylie Minogue, Madonna, and Robyn (all of whom she discussed in a guest DJ hour on "UKNY" this past June).

With Mid Air, Romy has written her most personally revealing songs to date, collaborating with Stuart Price (Madonna, The Killers), Mercury Prize nominee Fred Again.., and Jamie xx. The result is a love letter to her wife, her late parents, and the music she loves. With Mid Air, Romy paints a poignant, joyful portrait of herself, deeply in love and throwing her arms skyward to the sun.

Romy entreats us all to enjoy our lives and to love deeply and honestly — and it was wonderful to have her come to Studio A for the first time. She not only spoke in depth about Mid Air, but played three songs solo: "Weightless," "Strong," and a reconfigured version of The xx's "Angels," from 2012's Coexist.

[Recorded: 9/26/23; Engineered by Jim O'Hara and Lauryn Williams; Produced by Meghan Offtermatt]