RELOAD IT! Lexi Treble brings back funky house with 'Situationship' Remix
Whilst COVID might mean that going out to music events has become practically (and legally?) impossible, that hasn’t stopped social media from being the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to finding new music.
With thanks to a 'New Music Friday' post on my Instagram explore page, I came across a track called ‘Situationship Remix’ by a rising musician named Lexi Treble. The song is undoubtedly a banger, and gave me “I’ll bring you flowers’ garage vibes with a sprinkle of influences from funky house.
I crossed over to Spotify to discover more of Lexi's material and found that Situationship Remix was just the start of her amazing discography. Lexi's thought-provoking track Do U/I Hear explores her feelings about the Black Lives Matter movement and her experiences at one of the London protests. The original Situationship track takes on a mellow, R’n’B sound and explores difficulties in relationships nowadays.
Image from @lexitreble on Instagram
Lexi Treble's Influences
In a conversation with Merryn.org, Lexi talks about coming from a music-oriented family and how singing was a part of some of her earliest memories. “When I was around 8, I would sing around the house to music that was being played and then started making little songs of my own and would tell everyone to come to the living room to hear my performance.”
Lexi and I continued the conversation over Instagram DMs where we spoke more about her background, culture and influences on her music. One of Lexi's strongest influences being her pride in her mixed heritage: Congolese, Belgian and Portuguese. Having lived in Acton, West London since a young age, Lexi's love for her culture and the people around her grew. “Music and food has always been an important way we express ourselves and connect with others at home. I remember going to school and getting our phones out to share music, I was getting little pockets of influence from everywhere!”
For Lexi, her time in her school's Gospel choir had a huge influence on her musical upbringing and allowed her to naturally delve into the sounds of her culture, exploring Congolese Gospel music. “We’re quite bold and free spirited in our expression as well where I’m from and that definitely comes through when creating music, it’s never a bore and I just get really into my element and let the music guide me”.
Image from @lexitreble on Instagram
When Lexi Treble released her first EP titled Kinstugi, her sound had developed into the new wave Lofi/alternative R’n’B. This sound has continued in her newer releases from this year, like 'Situationship' and 'Cloudy Day', however, Lexi's roots are still present even in her newer releases. 'Situationship', which was a freestyle, incorporates French, Lexi’s mother tongue, and connects her identity to her music and her audience. “I’m always talking ‘franglais’ (going from English and French) with loved ones and it reminds me of Eartha Kits ‘C’est Si Bonne’. She sings in French so confidently but has the English elements in it, and that gave me the confidence to go with it and put aside anxiety that people wouldn’t get it. I definitely want to do more of that.”
For the remix of Situationship, the original sound was spun on its head, producing an uptempo, garage tune. The idea for this track came to Lexi in a dream. “I was staying at my friends house and I dreamt of recreating Situationship into a garage tune. Of course I don’t recall melodies but I just remember thinking in my dream that it sounded pretty sick.”
Behind the 'Situationship Remix' Official Music Video
Image from @lexitreble on Instagram
Tracks like 3 of a Kind’s 'Baby Cakes’ and Sweet Female Attitude’s 'Flowers’ were big influences for the remix and revisiting those tracks brought back a wave of memories and inspiration. Lexi’s favourites from the garage era were used as her muse for the official video. “Baby Cakes was my absolute tune back in the days. After rewatching it, I took a lot of concepts like colour clashing, checkered backgrounds and close up camera shots. The Flowers video had a positive bright and feel to it, so we used some flowers and bright backgrounds in the Situationship video to get that kind of energy coming through.”
More recent influences like Lucky Daye’s 'Roll Some Mo' helped with character references and direction. With the help of FlowTv and videographer James Polley the music video hit YouTube, gaining over 3,000 views.
Image from @lexitreble on Instagram
Having made her way into the industry with a few bangers already, I’m excited for what’s in store for Lexi and it seems an EP is well on the way: “I am planning on releasing more music this year and early next. I'm actually recording a mini EP and hopefully that’ll be out in December this year!”
Listen to Situationship Remix here
Watch the Situationship Remix music video on YouTube