PM regular and our favourite hat wearing heart throb, Hugo Valentine has returned with his newest, intuitive and deeply stirring single – ‘My Friend’.
Fuelled with emotion this newest offering moves into a new container of vulnerability for the artist, which he glides through with an air of grace and sensitivity. The rawness rasps throughout his soulful, connective vocal, making it impossible not to feel drawn in and to empathise with Hugo, as he bravely shares a subject so close to his heart.
‘My Friend’ is a carefully constructed tribute to a close friend of Hugo’s and is a true testament to the artists songwriting ability. To take a subject filled with such sadness and turn it into a message of hope and understanding he lifts the listeners spirits as he gently ushers them through an intimate journey from beginning to end.
This new single follows on from the success of his recent releases ‘All I Want’ and ‘Memories’, having amassed almost 350,000 streams together so far. Despite the current challenges, Hugo continues to rise up and prove yet again that he is set for a successful year ahead.
“’My Friend’ is a hard-hitting record filled with both pain and hope. It is a difficult and sore goodbye to a friend of mine who took his own life. It opens up a sharp wound, the type that never really heals, in order to try to better understand the onslaught of mixed emotions that follow such a happening. It tells a story of fear and loneliness, of a broken soul with no way out, but equally, it seeks to instil hope and to shine a light on his life. Bringing to the forefront the difficult yet pertinent issue of male suicide – something that is extremely close to my heart.
It attempts to tackle this difficult subject in an ode to the thousands of people who have suffered at the hands of depression and mental illness. There are many emotive messages within this song and also a wish, almost a plea to the possibility that he might still be here in spirit, watching over us. There’s an important and underlying sense of hope throughout, gently relishing the idea that there may be something after, a place where somebody in such pain can finally find peace. “Goodbye my friend.. even though I’m gonna miss you, I know I’m gonna see you again. – Hugo Valentine.
PURPLE MELON 