REVIEW: 'Age of Fatality' by Livia Rita
Age of Fatality - Livia Rita
Livia Rita is a young pop artist and fashion designer from London with a devotion to visual and aural art, and avant-garde performance. Feroce was lucky enough to catch her Winter Solstice single, Age of Fatality.
My first impression of Age of Fatality was a two pronged attack on my visual and auditory senses. The accompanying music video-turned fashion film displays Livia Rita’s depth of care for every aspect of her creative process. The visuals’ synchronicity with what I would have expected to see based on the track is scarily accurate.
“Hysterical hearts are hungry
To be reborn, to rewild, vulnerable inside”
We are lured into a cave-like setting filled with Livia and her fellow witches all in a shared, resolute worship. Whilst visually compelling and somewhat intimidating, there is a distinct air of purpose, belonging, fertility and security. Livia is known for her eco-conscious feminist writing, and it certainly isn’t amiss here.
Age of Fatality - Livia Rita
The first thing that hooked me into Age of Fatality, is its hypnotic simplicity. A driving and bouncy bass synth welcomes you, open with almost endless opportunities of how the song will build on an already infectious start. Livia’s whispered and staggered vocals reel you like the faint glow of an angler fish’s light: before you know it, you’re too close to escape as you begin to see and hear the bigger picture. The chorus explodes with higher layers of wet, crackly synths and pads as the bass synth grows and swells in aggression. A post chorus chants “Fatality” as the bass begins to rise and descend with more hostility as full drums kick in, making this feel much more like a spell than a refrain. All of the other worldly pads, ethereal synth-like vocal harmonies and crashing drums dissipate as we are brought back to the core bass synth for another round of expert dynamicism, like the tide pulling us out before delivering us the the earth once more.
The second chant builds even further on the first, with the synth bass resolving to a major with Livia’s vocals changing tone also. This feeling swells and crackles as we ride out the last few bars of the song on almost a whole new plain. Whilst all of the sounds and familiar textures are with us, it somehow feels new and a very refreshing end point for the song, to me, implying growth and positive change or optimism for the future.
“Summoning empathy
Come close
Touches of
Savage emotionality”
Truly an artist not limited to one style or even medium, Livia Rita is definitely one to watch. Alongside her single release, accompanying ArtFashion collection and upcoming 2021 debut album, FUGA FUTURA, you can find and support Livia Rita here: