Medusa

### Producer (s)

Lynne Parr , Social House , Tyler, the Creator , Panda Bear , Frank Ocean , Erykah Badu

## Singles Chronology

### 4.

Perfect Feat. Frank OceanReleased March 20, 2020

## Albums Chronology

### Next

Holiday (2020)

Medusa is the 11th studio album by american recording artist lynne parr. it is her first studio album in 5 years since her 2014 album Secret. the album was recorded during a period of healing and acceptance for lynne after battling depression for years. the album chronicles this path of self discovery with lynne returning to her sonic routes with Medusa being primarrily an R&B record with elements of Neo Soul and Pop

## Background

Lynne spent a majority of the 2010's in a deep Depression, at one point needing her husband and children to move out as she could barely care for herself. she recorded 2011's Indigo during that period and it heavily focuses on the betrayal she had gone through at the hands of friends, family and her record company. as well as postpartum depression and social anxiety. she took a short break before going back to the studio and recording her 10th album Secret. in an attempt to distance herself from her inner struggles she made a bright and more Pop oriented album with themes of Romance and Empowerment. but her struggles with mental health persisted, Lynne recused herself from the public eye following a tour in early 2017 to work on healing at last and began writing material as a form of therapy. she shared a few of these songs with a record exec at Atlantic records and he encouraged her to use the material for an album.

although she was initially hesitant, she ultimately agreed feeling it would be a powerful record for anyone struggling with mental health. this was fueled even more following the discovery of a tumor in Lynne's breast in November 2017. it was removed with surgery and proven to be non life threatening and would not spread but this shocking news gave Lynne more inspiration for her record

## Recording and Production

From the beginning of Medusa's recording Lynne knew she wanted to make an R&B Record. Lynne had been known as an R&B Queen in the 90s and 2000s. but had taken a noticeable shift in sound with her previous two albums being much more Electronic inspired. Lynne wanted to go back to the core of her sonic inspiration with Medusa

Lynne wanted to create a slick and modern sound. and in order to do this work lynne contacted various Hip hop and R&B producers. most notably the musical duo Social House. best known for there collaboration with Ariana Grande. she reached out after listening to Grande's sweetener album. there collaborations came in fairly late in the album's recording. with the songs being the last of the Medusa sessions. together they recorded over 20 songs, but only 3 made it onto the final album, TTYL, Voicemail and Treat U. Despite the few number of songs, this is the most she collaborated with any artist on Medusa.

Earlier in the album's production lynne reached out to Alternative R&B Singer Frank Ocean. she was a big fan of his work since Channel Orange and felt Medusa was the perfect time to work with him. they met at a fundraiser and she gave him her phone number. he mistakenly thought she was asking him out on a date but she clarified she wanted to collaborate on music. he accepted and they got to work. Lynne presented a demo she had made herself and together they reworked it into what became Perfect.

Lynne met Tyler the creator at the Grammys in 2018. they shared there mutual love for one another's music. they agreed to collaborate and met in New York city in April. together they wrote and produced 7 original tracks. only 2 made it onto the album. R.E.M and Zonin on the deluxe edition of medusa.

another collaborator for the record was Panda Bear of Animal Collective. the two were introduced to one another through lynne's sister in law Melissa Evans. who had collaborated with him on her 2016 album. lynne was impressed with his work and brought him on to produce a song. they did Candy Glitter Love together as there only collaboration but it made the final cut for the record due to it being a personal favorite song of hers

in addition, the tracks Protective Instinct and Sex Doll feature Erykah Badu & G-Eazy respectively also serve as collaborations with those said artists. with Erykah Co-Producing and CO-Writing Protective Instinct and G-Eazy co-writing on his collaboration

in addition to her collaborations with other artists, Lynne wrote 3 songs on the album completely alone, and Produced 2 by herself. notably her song When I Wake Up and the emotional ballad Letgo

## Composition

Medusa is primarily an R&B and Neo Soul Album with heavy influences of Alternative R&B ,Pop , Hip Hop and Trap. with some elements of Ambient, Downtempo , Soul , Jazz , Trip Hop , Quiet Storm, Psychedelic ,Vaporwave , Lofi and Experimental music. Lyrically, Medusa is one of Lynne's most personal projects. Touching on themes of Depression , Feminism , Homophobia, Motherhood , Betrayal , Loss , Forgiveness and Healing.

Production on Medusa is categorized as being sparse and more acoustic oriented than the glamorous dance oriented Secret. with a heavy emphasis on beats. Lynne used various drum machines on Medusa. most notably a 909. which is a favorite of lynne's to use. several tracks utilize various types of pianos such as Rhodes , Celeste , Organ and Grand pianos. other tracks feature string sections arranged in a dream like pattern. most famous on medusa is the strings on Letgo.

the artwork for Medusa features Lynne with her arms held out to signify her openness on the record "i held my arms out to show the world that i had nothing to hide. im letting it all out in the open this time." -Lynne Parr on Kiss FM radio in 2019.

the album opens with the moody R&B breakup song TTYL which lynne has gone on to state "its a breakup song between me and my tumor" which features a trap inspired beat with Pop chords.

the second track When I Wake Up is a R&B masterpiece where Lynne describes all the things she wants to do once she isn't depressed anymore. It was inspired by a real lost Lynne wrote in 2011. Entries on the list Include a world tour, having another baby and traveling stuff. With string like synths and ambient bass lines it's a highlight of Medusa

Voicemail is the albums most Experimental track, with the bassline being based around an old home phone voice message system. Heavy trip hop beats drive the euphoric Dance Track. lyrically it focuses on a lover who keeps sending Lynne to voicemail and how betrayed she feels about him ghosting her, Lynne has stated the lyrics are fictional however many dispute it could be about ex-boyfriend Keanu Reeves

the fourth Track protective instinct with Erykah Badu is a Jazzy R&B , Neo Soul track that lyrically focuses on the power of motherhood and the bond between a parent and child. Sonically it’s very sparse with elements of African and European traditional folk music.

Treat U is the 5th track on the album and takes a considerably lighter tone lyrically. Focusing on sexual liberation and intimacy with a partner who has proven loyalty. Sonically it incorporates dream pop and R&B heavily. With a soulful vocal approach and stripped back 50s soul style bridge and 90s quiet storm throughout it is described as a “baby making song”

Sex Doll feature’s Lynne singing and rapping lyrics about mistreatment of women as sex objects and sexual assault statistics. G-Eazy rapping to mention male victim sexual assault. Sonically it’s a hip hop driven song with a sample of another one of Lynne’s songs, “Sanctuary” off of indigo

R.E.M serves as the album’s only interlude but still manages to have lyrics and a sensible beat, with the lyrics being nonsensical at times meaning nothing, but Lynne has stated the song is about lucid dreaming all your fantasies with elements of ambient and psychedelic music

Candy Glitter Love incorporates Alternative R&B into a Downtempo Ballad with heavey Electronica inspirations, lyrically it takes a page from the Hyperpop scene with lyrics being pitched up and nonsensical in the chorus with no meaning other than to serve as textures

Letgo is an emotional ballad where lynne sings deeply personal lyrics about learning to let go of the past so she could move into a better place mentally. its the most stripped back track featuring just lynne's vocals and a piano, with a string section joining near the end of the song. with soulful and jazzy vocal inspirations

Perfect is an R&B and Neo Soul track with a Trap beat, wavy synths compliment an ambient baseline with lynne duetting with frank ocean on lyrics with themes of self love, acceptance of sexuality, and homophobia.

## Release & Promotion

leading up to the release, Medusa was teased for 6 months. with lynne posting selfies in the recording studio as early as 2018, and tweeting cryptic messages. in March her website and socialmedia were all updated to a sleek black aesthetic. and most noticeably, lynne's appearance and style were noticeably different. with lynne wearing her hair curly and big and lynne's usual girlish style with her wearing lots of dresses and sweat suits being replaced with baggy shirts and ripped jeans. this was helped by her appearance at the Grammys that year. in which she got alot of attention from her dress. she officially announced the lead single on February 20th in an interview with Jimmy Fallon, on March 11th, lynne tweeted a 10 second snippet of the instrumental. the tweet received over 500 Thousand likes and fans were exited. and on May 16, TTYL was finally released, it was received very well by audiences. it debuted at 51 on the hot 100, it slowly climbed the charts till it peaked at the top spot.

overseas it performed well in europe, reaching the top 10 in 15 countries and topping the charts in France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand and The United States. And becoming one of the most successful songs by a woman in her 40s ever. the music video managed to accumulate 200 million views in a month on Youtube. featuring Lynne in a cyberpunk themed city with bright neon colors as she walks through clubs, long empty hallways and a street during the nighttime. it was directed by David LaChapelle. lynne also released CD singles featuring remixes my various house, dance, hip hop and other producers. being available in target.