- 2025-09-09
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MUSIC
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Wyldest Releases New Song “Old Flame”
London-based singer-songwriter Zoë Mead, aka Wyldest released the third single “Old Flame” from her upcoming album “The Universe Is Loading” on September 8, 2025, following “After The Ending” and “All It Would Take Is A Phone Call”.
The new album is set to be released on November 14, 2025 via Hand In Hive.
Written after visiting California's Sequoia National Park in the aftermath of wildfires, the song parallels nature's cycles of destruction with human trauma.
The track was written and produced by Zoë Mead, with production by Luciano Rossi.
The accompanying music video was directed by Zoë Mead, as with the previous videos for “After The Ending” and “All It Would Take Is A Phone Call”.
Wyldest said of the song, “Old Flame was written after a small run of US shows, when I had the pleasure of visiting Sequoia National park in California. The forest fires had been running rife there and I learnt about the ecology of the area and how the trees up on the mountain grow to be the largest in the world. The trees there grow in a particular altitude and climate and the forest fires are natural to their ability to thrive in the environment. This got me thinking about trauma in the human world and how it could have the same natural tendency to occur and help with personal growth.”- She continued, “The song reflects on the loss of a relationship 'I'm longing to be with you again' and then jumps between the wider context of the turbulent environment our planet is currently in. It re-frames the idea of going through trauma as being natural and something we might (in hindsight) be able to embrace. The idea that you're letting go of an old version of yourself and leaving it behind in a less progressive time, in order to develop and grow - much like the trees in Sequoia.”
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The new album comprises 11 tracks, and presents an apocalyptic dreamworld inspired by sci-fi, gothic horror and romance, and the natural world's ability to adapt and endure.
Her most expansive body of work yet, the album grapples with grief, transformation, and the systems (both personal and political) that attempt to contain us.
It is her first album in three years since the 2022 album “Feed the Flowers Nightmares”.
Wyldest said of the album “It's ultimately an intense realisation that life and love doesn't always go as planned and sometimes we need to take time to make sense and peace within the chaos.”
Photo by Tom Gaiger - source : Apple Music
