Stay Alta

The British singer wants us to dance the pain away
The British singer wants us to dance the pain away
“I’m the girl with crystals in her hair,” begins “Outside,” the opening track of Stay Alta, the first Estelle album since 2018’s Lovers Rock. “Diamond is the life that’s in her head/Everything is just a little rare,” she continues. “Outside” is a declaration of the overwhelming joy and self-assurance the singer is hoping to spread with the album. She dabbles mostly in disco, house, and funk, effectively throwing a dance party in the name of hope and perseverance.
And what good is a party without a few guests? Stay Alta’s title track features Compton producer and MC Channel Tres, while Cleveland-hailing singer Durand Bernarr brings a bit of ballroom flair to “Let It Drop.” In a nod to the pandemic-defining DJ sets that kept the world sane, legendary producer and DJ D-Nice brings his master of ceremonies ability to “Love on Love,” proclaiming “Now’s the time to celebrate each other”—which is all Estelle is really asking, for us to appreciate one another. That, and as she instructs on the Teedra Moses and LaRussell collab “Grateful,” to “just stay grateful.”