Label: Mora Music
‘For Someone’ is the debut album from Vienna resident Filiah and from the opening strums of opener ‘Goodbye’, it feels like a truly intimate record. While the singular repetitive note on the guitar drones, Filiah fills the space with gorgeous vocal harmonies. It’s an interesting song in that the guitar is almost superfluous to the tune but sits more as a mood setter.
The acoustic guitar of ’27’ has a sadness to it that is palpable as Filiah not only tells the story with her tone but with lyrics such as “don’t ask me what’s wrong here, how would I know, i stopped asking myself that so long ago”, it’s evident that ‘For Someone’ is a very personal collection of songs. Rather than being a sad song though it almost feels like an arm around you and reassurance that it’s ok to feel sad.
‘A Letter’ is haunting in its minimal use of ukulele and Filiah’s breathy vocals as this song of lost love almost feels like a shanty sung out to the sea on a misty dock. Much like the rest of ‘For Someone’, ‘A Letter’ draws you in and holds your attention like few other songs with such minimalistic set up can.
For the recording process of ‘For Someone’, Filiah self produced and recorded it entirely in her own living room. This personal touch can be felt weaved through the album in both tone and the almost audible space of the room. For the title track, Filiah opts to swap out the stringed instruments for a beautifully optimistic sounding piano. The line “Just know you matter to someone if I’m someone” comes swathed in emotion as the piano seemingly floats around the empty space. Filiah says of ‘For Someone’, “I put all my heart in these songs. The whole process of making this album wasn’t to create something perfectly polished but hopefully something that resonates and makes the people who listen and might need to hear those words feel less alone”. This is evident as you listen to each track on the record and how much emotion Filiah can portray without even taking lyrics into consideration. Each instrument played is played with love and only serves to compliment Filiah’s beautiful and warming tone.
Rather than a sad record, ‘For Someone’ feels like a friend inviting you for a hug. The space around each song is audible and gives the music space to breathe. Though the singer-songwriter genre can sometimes become a little diluted, Filiah has found her own little corner to shine in by making a beautifully personal record that commands your attention without having to raise its voice.
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