In November, we told you Antwerp’s Taska Black was one to watch, and he just proved our point with “Backwards Love.” It’s a bold-yet-alluring sing-along featuring vocals from indie-pop singer-songwriter Trace while putting his talents as a multi-instrumentalist on full display.
“When I first heard Trace’s voice, I thought it sounded really interesting and refreshing,” Taska Black tells Billboard Dance. “I hadn’t really worked with a voice like that before, and it inspired me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. As an instrumentalist, I like to find ways to mix my electronic sounds with the instruments I played, and the guitars, piano and violin worked out really well with this one.”
“Backwards Love” builds around a graceful, moody melody, then sweeps it over a chunky 808 hook, building a rushing sense of euphoria. Trace is breathy and confident with her words, her bedroom tone portraying a narrator as strong as she is seductive.
“I remember wanting to write something about someone not deserving my love,” Trace is quoted in a press release. “I wrote this with a fellow writer, Solly, and we kind of were tossing words back and forth about the feelings I was going through. When we came up with the phrase ‘Backwards Love,’ it kind of just jumped out that we could flip the words ironically around and it [would] still make incredible sense. It’s about feeling off about someone, when you want to feel on. It’s about getting what you give, and if you don’t give it right, you can’t and won’t get it right.”
“There’s a sense of proclaiming self-worth in ‘Backwards Love’ that is super important for me to share with both men and women,” she continues. “I hope that the message of the song itself is an anthem people can start believing in.”
“Backwards Love” is out everywhere on San Holo‘s label Bitbird on Friday, with Black scheduled to support the label head’s show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre June 13. You can listen to the single a day ahead of schedule below, exclusively on Billboard Dance.