Title: “New Light”
Release Date: April 29, 2024
Recorded: Fénix Home Recording Studios, Phoenix, Arizona, USA / Record Plant, Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres: RnB, Soul, Blues, Contemporary Pop, Singer-Songwriter
Length: 68:10 (Standard Edition), 75:47 (Deluxe Edition)
Label: FREEDOM
Producers: Alicia Lena, Nevaeh Martinez, DeAndre Patton
“New Light” is the fourth studio album from American RnB singer-songwriter ‘Alicia Lena’, marking the first studio album from the artist since her 2012 album “Reign Over Me” cemented the young musicians legacy as a bona-fide superstar. The time between studio albums has seen the singer-songwriter step out of the spotlight, returning briefly in 2014 to deliver a fan-exclusive E.P titled “Almost Grown” and in 2015 and 2016 to deliver two soundtrack exclusive singles titled “Try Again” and “Humans Without Humanity”, beyond those releases Alicia has preferred to lead a private life, moving from New York to Arizona to begin married life with long-term partner and record producer DeAndre Patton where they welcomed their first child Rocco in May 2018. Away from her career as a musician during this period she was brought on board to FREEDOM records as a label executive and talent scout, also signing a record deal with the label for any potential future releases and she also worked as a judge on the talent search series StarFactory for a period of time before officially confirming her return as a recording artist in 2021 when she delivered a powerful social justice song titled “Here We Stand” for the soundtrack to a documentary she worked on as a co-producer titled “No Justice, No Peace: The Search for Equality in the US” which was delivered in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. She confirmed with the release that the song also signalled her return to the studio on a more permanent basis and that working on the track gave her the impetus and motivation to finally return to the studio to work on a full length album.
The album was recorded throughout 2022 and 2023 with Alicia diving back into what was truly her first love, with no direction or time constraints placed upon her, she set about experimenting in her home recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona throughout the majority of 2022 with her husband and producer DeAndre Patton in a period which saw her write more than fifty songs for consideration for her next studio album. It wasn’t until the process of narrowing down the songs that she began to form the genesis for the album and it’s over-arching theme that would flow throughout the album, towards the end of 2022 it was clear that the album was one of humanity, stories of hope and faith and the difficulties and triumphs that everyday people go through. She blended her own experiences and feelings into the songs on a number of tracks, but for the most part it was about creating something more universally relatable to her own life. Once it was clear on the overall theme of the album and that the songs were written to a standard deemed worthy enough of being recorded Alicia moved the process from her own home studio and into the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California where she was accompanied by her husband DeAndre Patton and her closest friend, label executive and record producer Nevaeh Martinez to begin recording the album and starting to put the puzzle pieces together.
The first true taste of the album began in May 2023 with the release of the official lead single from the project titled “Home”, a track that showcased the storytelling nature of the upcoming album and it’s highlight on human spirit and emotions. Taken from her own personal story in part, the track tells the story of a young girl being adopted, taking references from her own life about her birth parents drug habits, immediately giving her up for adoption and how a child from an ethnic background (Spanish and Black) was raised by two middle class white people that effectively gave her a home despite being brought into the world unwanted and without a home. The track emphasises the idea of hope and strong bonds between parents and children whether by blood or not and ends with Alicia highlighting the fact that she will be the one to bring those same morals and ethics into her own parenting. The track was a huge success for Alicia, riding on the wave of excitement at the confirmation of her official comeback, the track became her eighth number one single in her career and re-ignited the support for an artist that had long been missed in the industry.
Although the momentum was with Alicia following the release of the lead single, she was still hard at work in the studio finishing up post-production on the album and fitting all of the pieces together throughout the rest of 2023. But on the final day of 2023 she surprised her fans with the release of the second single from the album which would later be confirmed as the title track from the album, “New Light”. The track continued the theme of hope and showcased a positive message throughout of having doubts of self-belief and struggles and working through them in order to get to the other side of it. During the press run for the single Alicia talked about the track’s overall message and why it was chosen as the single, “We live in a world where negativity is so prevalent, for me I believe my purpose throughout my brief time on this earth and all of our purpose is to be a small beacon of light, positivity and goodness. I think it’s so easy to fall into that negative mindset and lose sight of the end goal with all that’s going on in the world. There are some songs on the album that I could have released that are incredibly sad stories and themes but for me it’s more important for the singles to put something more wholly positive out there. I know a lot of people will only casually listen to my music through the singles, so I’d like to put positivity out there, songs of hope. Of course I rate the more difficult and emotive songs just as highly as the positive and more life affirming songs, but I’m always going to opt to put out a more positive message or something that I feel like is important to be highlighted like I did with ‘Here We Stand’. I like to think that the album as a whole is more positive and uplifting, but I’ve tried to encapsulate a broad range of human life and it’s stories within the album, so there’s ups and down for sure.”
It continued the successful return for the artist and it was then followed up by “Love Comes Not When We’re Looking” in March 2024 which again saw Alicia take her own story, doubts and feelings and try to deliver a song that showcased universal emotions. Primarily about her making the journey from being incredibly independent and not believing in her own need for a powerful all-encompassing love type of relationship to eventually having her mindset changed over time through persistency and dedication. Although the track speaks to her own mindset and story of her future husband proving to her that true real love is possible within the celebrity world that they live in, it’s delivered in a way that speaks to people on a more universal level, again highlighting the human aspect that runs throughout the entire album. The track again secured Alicia with another number one single and was confirmed that it would be the penultimate release before the album. Indicating that one more track would drop before the albums actual release, although details weren’t confirmed at the time.
She would go on to release the final single from the album a couple of days prior to the album dropping with the release of “Rooftops (Part II)” (feat. Ryan Ross Hernandez) which saw Alicia working alongside her close friend and previous collaborator from her debut album. The soul and blues heavy track showcased both artists take and views on modern day issues, from government officials to greed in general. Released on April 27, 2024 it was confirmed as the final single from the albums promo run and that the album would be arriving a couple of days later.
With that confirmation, Alicia Lena’s fourth studio album will be released via FREEDOM records on April 29, 2024.
Tracklisting;01. “New Light” (4:28)
02. “Home” (5:02)
03. “Guardian Angel” (3:49)
04. “Color Me Impressed” (4:46)
05. “Envious” (3:17)
06. “Here We Stand” (4:39)
07. “What I’m Singing For” (4:09)
08. “With Heavy Souls and Heavy Faith” (4:47)
09. “Something’s Gotta Change” (5:23)
10. “Rise Up” (2:58)
11. “Even On Those Hard Days” (4:52)
12. “Rooftops (Part II)” (feat. Ryan Ross Hernandez) (5:28)
13. “World at War” (4:22)
14. “Saviour” (4:41)
15. “Love Comes Not When We’re Looking” (4:57)
16. “Shine Brightly On” (3:52)
Deluxe Edition17. “Try Again” (4:29)
18. “Humans Without Humanity” (3:48)
Singles;“Try Again” (September 27, 2015) [#1]
“Humans Without Humanity” (December 27, 2016) [#3]
“Here We Stand” (October 10, 2021) [#1]
“Home” (May 6, 2023) [#1]
“New Light” (December 31, 2023) [#2]
“Love Comes Not When We’re Looking” (March 30, 2024) [#1]
“Rooftops (Part II)” (feat. Ryan Ross Hernandez) (April 27, 2024)
Credits & Personnel;CREDITSRecorded by Alicia Lena
Produced by Alicia Lena, Nevaeh Martinez, DeAndre Patton
Engineered by Aniyah Jordan
Mixed by DeAndre Patton, Aniyah Jordan
Recorded at Fénix Home Recording Studios, Phoenix, Arizona / Record Plant Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California
PERSONNELAlicia Lena – vocals, piano, organ, lyrics, composition, production
Aniyah Jordan – lead guitar, backing vocals, engineering, mixing
Ryan Ross Hernandez – lead guitar, vocals, backing vocals, lyrics, composition, production (*track 12 – “Rooftops (Part II)” (feat. Ryan Ross Hernandez))
Angel City Chorale – vocals (*track 6 – “Here We Stand”) (*track 15 – “Love Comes Not When We’re Looking”)
Los Angeles Philharmonic – instrumentation (*track 6 – “Here We Stand)
Nevaeh Martinez – production, management
DeAndre Patton – production, mixing, composition
Aniyah Jordan – engineering, mixing
Abella Diaz – lyrics, composition (*track 15 – “Love Comes Not When We’re Looking”)
Ryan Ross Hernandez – lyrics, composition, production (*track 12 – “Rooftops (Part II)” (feat. Ryan Ross Hernandez))
