Establishing the mood with rhythmic percussion and pitched vocal ad-libs, Ash L. Leif opens I’m Still Right Here with dimensionality and clarity before sharing the situational lyrics, “Distant hallway footsteps, muted television on, white curtains sway in the AC breeze, plastic chairs and abandoned needs…”
The opus expands with a high emotional quotient and sentimentality as we are taken on a relatable journey of human and universal connection. In essence, I’m Still Right Here is a message of reassurance and resilience. It serves to capture the feeling of remaining present even when circumstances might become overwhelming. There is something viscerally authentic about the way Ash L. Leif transforms isolation, uncertainty and adversity into a reminder that we can still endure. It feels culturally zeitgeist at a time when we, as a society, need it the most.
We immediately connect with the poetic prowess that manifests throughout the composition. The super vivid lyrics paint a picture that we can visualise, whilst the soaring vocals remain deeply human beneath the cinematic scale of the production. The production is equally enthralling, with dark contemporary R&B colliding with heavy electronica.
We could easily imagine I’m Still Right Here landing a sync placement in a film like The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, or a television series like Beauty in Black, Stranger Things or PLUR1BUS. Fans of Rag’n’Bone Man will also be able to connect with what Ash L. Leif has created.
We learn that I’m Still Right Here is part of The Aegis Frequency and the wider The Omega Saga universe, functioning as a living chapter in a much larger story. Yet even without knowing the mythology behind Aethelgard, the emotional message is still completely accessible. You don’t need to understand the cosmic war to understand what it means to simply say: I’m still here.
Needless to say, we are enthralled by the cinematic ambition and emotional depth of I’m Still Right Here, and we have added the track to our New Music Spotlight playlist and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we continue to explore the wider sonic universe that Ash L. Leif is creating with The Omega Saga.