Ari Abdul deepens the dark-pop direction of her next chapter with SEDUCTIVE, released through Slumbo Labs/RCA Records.
Produced by Stint, the single combines shadowy trip-hop textures with writing about acceptance, identity and emotional self-erasure.
SEDUCTIVE is a song all about the debilitating desire to be accepted/loved that you’ll do anything, even if it means suppressing everything you are. I wanted this track to feel like losing yourself for everyone else. It shows the lengths we go just to feel wanted. The song came from a place of always trying to be enough and rather than a love song to one person it’s a plea to the listener to be enough. A huge focus on the project is identity, avoidance and navigating purpose, seductive sets that tone perfectly by confusing love, devotion and self-destruction.
The track previews a larger project expected this autumn. It follows EGO, SO GOOD and ENAMORED, which similarly explore jealousy, obsession, loneliness and unstable relationships. Ella Boh and Stint have become key collaborators, alongside writers Emma Rosen and Trey Campbell.
Abdul entered music unexpectedly with her 2022 debut BABYDOLL. After going viral on TikTok, the track led to a record deal, two EPs, a Nessa Barrett tour and her first live performance at Lollapalooza.
Raised in Brooklyn by an Ecuadorian mother and Costa Rican father, Abdul grew up around Latin pop, New York hip-hop and the underground artists introduced by her older brothers. She says:
With this upcoming project, it feels so much like me, and it feels so real to me. I feel like it’s a perfect reflection of what I’ve always wanted to say.
With SEDUCTIVE, Abdul uses trip-hop-influenced production to frame a more personal examination of identity, desire and the damage caused by changing yourself to feel wanted.