“You and Me,” the second single from Nicole Selivan of Belgian band Salvia, explores dark wave and gothic indie, injecting a love song with shoegaze and dream pop.
With a captivating video shot by Ukrainian film director Anastasiia Tadai, Salvia is among the Benelux region’s most talked-about new artists, having been featured on Left of the Dial, with performances in Brussels and Rotterdam, and at Fifty Lab and Reeperbahn.
Having fled the war in Ukraine at 20 years old, Selivan founded Salvia in Brussels, with members of The Haunted Youth joining her live band. Selivan left behind a budding career in music, and in beginning her solo project, linked up with Arno De Ros and Tom Stokx of The Haunted Youth. With tight bass and pulsing electronic drums, the music has a gloomy energy in the vein of The Cure and Lebanon Hanover.
Salvia’s first single, “Time,” became a hit on Belgian radio. 21bis spoke to Nicole, where she spoke about the endless pressure of emigration – the constant chase, the feeling of never having enough time, saying, “For Belgians, though, I just say it’s about time itself. They wouldn’t understand the deeper meaning.”
Growing up with parents who worked in funeral services, the dark mood of Selivan’s music and lyrics can be traced to her childhood in Kyiv, having been surrounded by grief, loss and mourning. Developing a deep respect for death, mortality and time, Selivan shared, “Death will not bypass anyone, time does not stop. That is why the purpose in life for me is experiencing emotions and living in the moment. The same goes for my music, and I also want the people who listen to my music to experience emotions, often sad
ones. In our capitalist world with a lot of commercial music, I want to leave a place for people where they can still be human.”
Watch the video for “You and Me” below.
Comments are closed.