Femi Luna washing her pain away
A good three years after her debut album, singer/songwriter Femi Luna (aka Euphemia Fokkens) releases her stunning follow-up, “Wash My Pain Away”. The twelve-song collection was recorded with Canadian producer/composer Michael Dubue and percussionist Adam Bradley Schreiber at Cimetière Studio in rural Québec. As if the atmosphere in this church/studio wasn’t evocative enough, the three-week recording session took place when the whole village was buried under a thick blanket of snow.
Beginning to write songs during her last school years in Eastern Switzerland, Femi Luna’s reputation swiftly spread, earning her a “Radio SRF 3 Best Talent” award in late 2021. To prepare for her follow-up, she hid away in Vienna for a whole year to escape any unwanted distractions before travelling to Canada for the recording.
“Wash My Pain Away” doesn’t sound like an album recorded by just three people. Sometimes with the piano upfront, sometimes led by a twanging guitar and a hint of “Twin Peaks”, the multi-layered production oozes warmth and depth. With Michael Dubue particularly well-known for his film soundtracks, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the overall sound conveys a near-filmic sense of physicality. Femi Luna’s richly expressive voice, meanwhile, effortless claims our attention and rewards us with a collection of songs that fully delivers on her early promise.
Femi Luna, incidentally, is particularly proud of the unusual range of merchandise she has put together for this release. It includes the spectacularly coloured “Wash Your Pain Away” soap, crochet album bags and wallets made from recycled materials.
