Premiere: Aïda Mekonnen Caby Debuts with Dreamy Intimacy & Icelandic Reverie in “The Glow,” a Breathtaking Indie Folk Introduction

Aïda Mekonnen Caby debuts with “The Glow,” a softly smoldering indie folk reverie that captures love, longing, and the quiet magic of a moment suspended in time.

Stream: “The Glow” – Aïda Mekonnen Caby

Did you find god, then damn your luck? It must be hard to feel that love…

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There’s something magnetic about a moment so pure, it burns into your memory like sunlight on skin.

That’s the feeling Aïda Mekonnen Caby captures in her solo debut “The Glow,” a lush, softly seductive indie folk reverie that shimmers with warmth, vulnerability, and emotional depth. Swirls of guitar encircle the ears, lilting piano keys ring out into the distance, and Caby’s voice – close, unguarded, and unfiltered – lands like a breath against the mic. It’s the sound of presence; of discovery; of surrender. The New York City native come to life in a song that doesn’t just reflect on love, but embodies it – wrapping listeners in a heady, heart-swelling kind of intimacy that lingers long after the final note fades.

With tender conviction and enchanting grace, Caby delivers a musical daydream manifest in sound – and in doing so, introduces herself as a voice worth holding close.

I feel the glow,
your neon soul
It makes me whole,
when I get low

Fjaðrárgljúfur
Fjaðrárgljúfur

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “The Glow,” the breathtaking, achingly beautiful debut single from Brittany, France-based singer/songwriter Aïda Mekonnen Caby. Released July 16^th, the track arrives as the lead single off Caby’s debut solo album Mais Uma, out August 29^th via Mtn Laurel Recording Co.

While this is her first release under her own name, Caby is no stranger to the music world: She previously played in the bands Forever Honey and Work Wife, the latter of which introduced her to TOLEDO – the Brooklyn indie duo who produced her album and have recently been featured on Atwood for their own stunning EP, Inertia. With Mais Uma, Caby steps into the spotlight as a solo artist for the first time, trading band dynamics for a diaristic, gently cinematic sound that’s wholly her own.

As her first solo single, “The Glow” introduces not only Caby’s soul-stirring folk-laced sound, but also the heartfelt storytelling and emotional imprint at the core of her burgeoning artistry.

“This is one of the first songs I wrote for the album, and the first song I recorded for it too,” Caby tells Atwood Magazine.

“I’d always suspected it might be something I do on my own, as it sort of marked a turning point in my life. I’d written it about a road trip my partner and I had taken around Iceland very soon after we’d met. I tried to make the lyrics and instrumental sound like the feeling I’d had when we had stopped off at a canyon whose name is the poorly pronounced refrain of the song: Fjaðrárgljúfur.”

That word – Fjaðrárgljúfur – becomes both anchor and refrain, haunting the track’s chorus like a memory you can’t quite shake. “I feel the glow, your neon soul / It makes me whole, when I get low,” Caby sings, her voice delicate and deliberate. There’s a vulnerability here that’s quietly consuming: She’s not trying to impress; she’s inviting us into the moment.

“The Glow” finds Caby reflecting on what was at the time a very new relationship with her partner, all the while ensconced in Fjaðrárgljúfur’s breathtaking natural vistas and splendor.

“We jokingly refer to that road trip we took as our second date because we’d only seen each other for the three weeks that I’d spent on vacation in Porto just two months prior, and this was the first time we’d seen each other since then,” she explains. “The lyrics sort of reflect this warmth and safety I’d felt from this new relationship that I was very excited about, and the landscapes I’d seen that had really shifted my thinking and headspace, when at home I’d been feeling pretty stuck and unmotivated.”

She continues, “The second verse is sort of an exaggeration of my inner dialogue that tends to get a little paranoid and skittish when things seem ‘too good.’” That’s where lines like “Did you find god, then damn your luck? / It must be hard to feel that love” come into play – existential questions rendered in fragile melody, tracing the sharp edge of fear and awe that comes with falling hard.

There’s beauty in how “The Glow” sets the tone for what’s to come. As the album opener and its emotional spark, the track is a reflection of the changes – and the courage – that shaped Mais Uma.

“It just reflects the beginning of a part of my life that the album also represents,” Caby shares. “This song and what caused me to write it is also what caused me to move to Portugal and then France, and also caused all of the songs that I’d written and recorded in these places in the last two years. ‘The Glow’ and really all of Mais Uma confirms what I already knew, which is that I’m more effective at communicating through song than anything else… speaking, texting, emailing, whatever.”

For Caby, these songs began as sketches from her time living abroad – a soundtrack to the loneliness and learning that comes from building a life in a new language, in a new place, with a new love.

“If anyone that’s listening has ever been somewhere unfamiliar, tried to learn a new language or two, or has ever felt homesick, this album is probably for you,” she smiles.

Working with Daniel Alvarez de Toledo and Jordan Dunn-Pilz of TOLEDO, she found a studio home that nurtured her sound without crowding it, preserving the rawness and spirit of her original demos.

“They really fostered a sense of playfulness and openness which I think I hadn’t really experienced in the studio before,” she says. “I really loved their working style, and they have such a great ear for harmonies and are very up for anything, which I think really drew me in.”

With its glowing melodies and gorgeously glacial textures, “The Glow” doesn’t just announce Aïda Mekonnen Caby – it invites us to pause and feel alongside her.

This is music for the introspective moments; for lovers and wanderers, for dreamers and those still figuring it all out.

Let this song hold you in its quiet light.

Mais Uma is out August 29^th via Mtn Laurel Recording Co. Watch the “The Glow” music video below, and stay tuned for more from Aïda Mekonnen Caby in the weeks to come! And if you can’t pronounce Fjaðrárgljúfur, don’t worry – you’ll feel it just fine. The word might trip up your tongue, but this song will go straight for your heart.

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:: stream/purchase The Glow here ::

:: connect with Aïda Mekonnen Caby here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH AÏDA MEKONNEN CABY

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: Hi! I guess I would want people to know that these songs mean a lot to me, and if anyone that’s listening has ever been somewhere unfamiliar, tried to learn a new language or two, or has ever felt homesick, this album is probably for you. I was also writing and demo-ing these songs while I was dating, engaged to, and married my husband – so there’s a lot of excitement in there too!

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: Being in bands with some of my best friends was absolutely crucial for me. Having the trust and respect of my really talented band mates gave me the feeling that songwriting and making a record on my own was something I was capable of doing, so it didn’t feel like a crazy stretch to go for it. Another catalyst was that I’d basically left New York and moved to Portugal in kind of a hurry, and suddenly really had a lot of time on my hands that I hadn’t had before – I was writing way more music than I’d done in the years previous.

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: The artists I’ve been going back to a lot the last few years are PJ Harvey, Björk (Debut and Homogenic have been on repeat A LOT), Nina Simone, Elliott Smith and Paolo Conte. It is my biggest hope that people have the time to listen to all of the songs on the record – it’s only about nine songs, so it’s digestible enough – and I hope the songs are able to have a life of their own. It’d also be nice to play some shows, too.

It is my biggest hope that people have the time to listen to all of the songs on the record… and I hope the songs are able to have a life of their own.

* * *

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: “The Glow” is the first song from the album that I wrote, and it sort of planted the idea in my head that maybe I’d want to do an album on my own. I’d written it almost immediately after I’d gotten back from a road trip around Iceland with my partner, and there was a canyon that we had stopped off at called Fjaðrárgljúfur that just stuck with me – that moment was sort of crystallized in my brain and the words and chords really came out of thinking of that place. So much so that I made “Fjaðrárgljúfur” the refrain of the song, albeit incredibly mispronounced on my part.

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: I met them while Meredith was working on the first Work Wife EP a few years ago – they were producing and engineering it, and I was there to play some guitar on it. I really loved their working style, and they have such a great ear for harmonies and are very up for anything, which I think really drew me in. Afterward, I’d felt that if I was ever going to start working on songs of my own, I’d want to work with them. They really fostered a sense of playfulness and openness which I think I hadn’t really experienced in the studio before.

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: “The Glow” was written about my partner and Fjaðrárgljúfur in Iceland. We jokingly refer to that road trip we took as our second date because we’d only seen each other for the three weeks that I’d spent on vacation in Porto just two months prior, and this was the first time we’d seen each other since then. And the lyrics sort of reflect this warmth and safety I’d felt from this new relationship that I was very excited about, and the landscapes I’d seen that had really shifted my thinking and headspace, when at home I’d been feeling pretty stuck and unmotivated. The second verse is sort of an exaggeration of my inner dialogue that tends to get a little paranoid and skittish when things seem “too good.”

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: I mentioned it before, but it’s about the relief in being somewhere specific with someone specific and feeling very content and comfortable with EVERYTHING.

Aïda Mekonnen Caby: As my first single and the opening song of Mais Uma, it just reflects the beginning of a part of my life that the album also represents. This song and what caused me to write it is also what caused me to move to Portugal and then France, and also caused all of the songs that I’d written and recorded in these places in the last two years. “The Glow” and really all of Mais Uma confirms what I already knew, which is that I’m more effective at communicating through song than anything else… speaking, texting, emailing, whatever.

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:: stream/purchase The Glow here ::

:: connect with Aïda Mekonnen Caby here ::

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Stream: “The Glow” – Aïda Mekonnen Caby

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Connect to Aïda Mekonnen Caby on
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 © Justin Buschardt

:: Stream Aïda Mekonnen Caby ::