Setting the tone with a rippling guitar, Christina Li opens No Sleep with atmospheric vocals and the situational lyrics, “Rewind to our first night, dim the lights you stay til 5am, we’d still leave things unsaid…”
The opus expands into a luscious indie-pop ode to love as Christina Li tells a dreamy, innocent story of a secret relationship. Elaborating on the meaning of No Sleep, Christina Li confesses, “When my girlfriend and I first started talking, she wasn’t out, so we spent a lot of our early days behind closed doors, at night in my tiny college dorm room.”
The rising artist from New York reminisces, “Looking back, that period was one of excitement and anticipation of something new, but tinged with frustration and longing. This track grew from these bittersweet feelings. I wrote the song drifting in and out of sleep, and I hope that No Sleep will also immerse you in a dream-like haze and leave you floating.”
We appreciate the poetic nuance of the track, and how Christina Li shares her personal, but also relatable story of hidden love. We are in awe of her dynamic delivery and the authenticity that she shares with her artistry.
The emotional strings add dimensionality to the production and we are mesmerized by Christina’s charm and charismatic vocal delivery, as she shares her story. The genre expansive nature of her sound fuses elements of contemporary and polished indie pop, with the sensibilities of jazz, soul, K-pop, and even musical theatre!
Christina Li cites singer-songwriters including Lizzy McAlpine and Eloise as influences from a storytelling perspective, and bands like Lawrence and Sammy Rae and The Friends, although it is clear that she is creating a universe of her own.
She comments with confidence, “I’d say that this is the first track to truly feel like me in a very long time. I feel as if I’ve genuinely discovered my sound. Lyrically, it speaks to a very personal, vulnerable, and important story of my identity as a queer woman and hopeless romantic.”
We love this energy and have added No Sleep to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream Christina Li‘s wider discography including Just As You Are and Truth.