Listen to Joya Mooi's Meditative New Single 'Hold You Tight'
Premiere: the Dutch-South African singer reflects on love and trust issues on her first release of the year.
Artwork by: Zarlasht Zia & Niek Dekker
Amsterdam-based artist Joya Mooi shares her latest single, "Hold You Tight."
The reflective song, produced by Blazehoven, is a soothing mix of soul sounds and ambient R&B complete with pensive lyrics and an infectious hook. It sees Mooi musing on past trust issues, self-perception and the outcomes of unhealthy relationships.
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"Fortunately I'm now in a phase where I really trust positive things will come to me. And that I deserve all the things that I work for," she tells OkayAfrica. "But that wasn't always the case. In 'Hold You Tight' I really wanted to connect my past self with the circumstances that life used to put me in."
"Growing up I hardly witnessed healthy relationships," she explains further in a press release. "That's why I always thought I wasn't able to have a healthy relationship myself. I became quite skeptical about anything that was positive. In 'Hold You Tight' I'm speaking about themes as distrust, love and self-stigma. The desires I had in life, relationships and dealing with patterns created by the generations before me."
The conservatory-trained singer, who has roots in South Africa, also shares an accompanying music video for the song, directed by Jacob Creach.
It's the artist's first single since the release of her 2019 album The Ease of Others, and there's plenty more to come from the artist this year. Watch the music video for "Hold You Tight" below.
