A heavy, heartfelt, and vulnerable outpouring of emotion, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” helps establish Philadelphia’s Orion Sun as a fresh, compelling voice full of nuance, depth, and endless creativity.
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“Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” – Orion Sun
Had this review been coming out in early January upon the song’s initial release, I would have hailed Orion Sun’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” as “an enthralling first glance at the artist’s textural chemistry” and “a 2020 return full of promise and potential.” Six months later, these words still hold true – but in the wake of her debut album release in late March, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” doesn’t feel to me like a track full of promise; rather, it feels like an affirmation of Orion Sun’s stunning talent. A heavy, heartfelt, and vulnerable outpouring of emotion, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” helps establish the Philadelphia artist as a fresh, compelling voice full of nuance, depth, and endless creativity.
Swear you came down like a comet
You be all in my dreams
like I’m fucking haunted
But it’s beautiful you move me
Like the moon beam
Change the water flow oh oh oh oh oh oh
It feels so good to know ya…
So good so good…
It feels so damn good…
Orion Sun has given herself over in song, and the result is dripping with intimacy and bone-chilling individuality.
Released March 27, 2020 via Mom + Pop records, Hold Space for Me is the soul-soaked, lyrically impassioned, and hypnotically ambient debut album from Orion Sun. The moniker for 23-year-old singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tiffany Majette, Orion Sun first introduced herself in 2016 and has been spellbinding her audiences ever since. With a deft ear for catchy licks and enchanting sounds, Orion Sun’s music has grown in breadth and depth over the years; while she in the past found her comfort zone in a minimalist space, her debut album leans into instrumental expansion and incorporates a wealth of sounds and subtle textures that add form, substance, and feeling to what ultimately feels like a sonic tapestry – a stirring, shiver-inducing musical painting.
The lead single off Hold Space for Me, “Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” arrived in early January with lush tones that seem to stop and take in the fullness of the moment. While there’s no denying the titular Nina Simone reference, Orion Sun owns every second of this song – from the feel-good bass lines, to the wash of ethereal, swirling background textures, to her syrupy words that so seamlessly evoke a sense of tenderness and knowing, Orion Sun sounds sure of herself and sure of her art. “It feels so good to know you,” she sings four times – and while she sounds relatively similar on each repeat, the words seem to resonate with increasing strength.
“Falling in love unexpectedly and feeling like it’s too good to be true, but actually it’s good and true… This feeling was proof to me that good things can happen to people that feel ugly inside,” the artist shared upon her song’s release.
Had some nights that weren’t nice
I needed something more
Found you in the bright lights
On the dancefloor
You wooed me like a warm breeze
Swept me off my feet
“I’ve always wished I could bottle up a happy feeling and save it for a fucked up day. Music and writing are the closest thing that I have to that,” Majette shared earlier this year upon her album’s release.
“Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” comes close to that goal in so many ways: From its easy flow to the artist’s poetry, the song invites listeners to open up and be at peace. “Love me forever,” Orion Sun sings in the track’s final moments, buoyant guitars and a treble-y drum kit bursting in front of her soft, barely audible voice. This is a song of complete and utter vulnerability, but Orion Sun doesn’t hide her love or try to mask her exposed heart: Rather, she embraces her feelings and is overwhelmingly authentic – true to herself, and true to her soul.
It’s a great introduction to Orion Sun if you don’t know her already – and if you do, it’s just one more reason to love what this singular artist is creating for herself and others in the music space. Hold Space for Me is out now wherever you listen to music!
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“Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don’t Leave Me)” – Orion Sun
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