Shay Lia’s debut album, FACETS, doubles as a summit showcase for the most adventurous producers across the dance/pop spectrum, including her longtime club-conquering collaborator KAYTRANADA, Afrobeats wiz GuiltyBeatz, psych-soul wunderkind Chiiild, Toronto synth-pop romantics Majid Jordan, and Cuco collaborator Andrés Rebellón. But despite the presence of this all-star supporting cast, for Lia, FACETS is very much a solo project—in that it’s a document of a time when the Montreal singer was quite literally all alone. “The pandemic was kind of like a purge,” Lia tells Apple Music. “I decided to part ways with a lot of people in my life after the release of [2020’s] Solaris, and I kind of started over in my personal life. I decided to take a risk and go to LA all by myself—that was a big thing for me. I was there for a month and a half, and I wrote, like, 90 percent of the record while I was there.” That sense of liberation and renewal can be felt across FACETS’s 10 tracks, which see Lia rifling through various dance-floor styles—from old-school disco to modern amapiano—with all the giddy abandon of a shopper whipping through the sales rack. But FACETS’s stylistic fluidity is grounded by its philosophical consistency, with Lia’s swooning, R&B-rooted melodies and self-help lyrical affirmations serving as anchors for her aesthetic explorations. “I try to keep it as cohesive as possible, while being honest with my tastes and my curiosities,” she says. “It’s all one world in the end.” Here, she takes us on a track-by-track tour of her many FACETS. “HIGH” “Last year, I went to Miami around my birthday, and I was able to just stop time and enjoy myself and be proud of all the work I had put into this record. So, this song came out like a manifestation of that chill confidence because that’s how I was feeling. The frequency of this song came naturally to me—when I listen to it, I’m definitely there, on that trip. But the sound is a little amapiano because I’m someone who loves to explore. And with amapiano being so big, I just felt like GuiltyBeatz was the best fit for it. But it’s amapiano in a way that still allows for fusion—the verses are still R&B.” “ON THE LOW” “I did this with KAYTRANADA—I think it’s our 10th collaboration. We did this the same way we did our other songs: He sends me beats, I pick one, I write the song to it, I send it to him, he loves it, he tweaks it, and then it’s out! We don’t need to be in the studio together—if we go into a whole creative process, then that means it’s going to be annoying, and we don’t even finish the song! That’s because we don’t really direct each other; we really respect each other’s style. Naturally, this track is very him, but it’s a little more Latin, and I came up with that chorus melody that’s a little more Afropop. But it’s still very much his signature, with my R&B style on the verses.” “ROMEO & JULIESHA” “I write all my songs, but this time, Maesu came up with the song, which was also written by Kari Faux. He sent me the demo, and it’s very close to the final version, which never happens for me. But I challenged myself to elevate it with additional production, so I was more of an artist/producer on this one. That was very exciting. I love this song because it gives me the opportunity to bring out a goofy, fun side that is very me but doesn’t always come across in my music.” “TAKUTÁ” “I just wanted to do a club song, and I’m very grateful for Andrés [Rebellón]—he’s open-minded, and he’s happy to try new things. And because he’s from Colombia, he knows how to do these club sounds and do them well. It was a hilarious session—we were laughing the whole time and not taking ourselves too seriously. I really love this song because there are other facets of me in there. I was thinking about my queer East African friends. I’m speaking in French, so obviously there’s a European sensibility in it. And then there’s Andrés’ Latin touch. It’s all in the song.” “E.G.O” (feat. Buddy) “So, I’m in LA and trying to arrange studio sessions. I had heard of [fellow LA-based Montrealer] Chiiild and contacted him, and he was like, ‘Yeah, let’s try something.’ And then Majid Jordan was in town and [Compton rapper] Buddy was in town, so I’m like, ‘OK, let’s all do a session together!’ I think they all knew each other, but I don’t think they ever had worked together. What we came up with reminded me of the vibe on my first EP, Dangerous—the Janet Jackson-inspired style that I like to go for sometimes. I love how Chiiild took that Janet-ish sound but made it more experimental and futuristic. We really quickly went for that theme of narcissism, and how some people are wired and how they treat others, but I wanted to go about it in an empowering way. It was cool to have a man—Majid—helping me out with the lyrics because it wasn’t about men versus women or men. It’s about some people who have personality disorders, and they exist on both sides.” “ATTERRISSAGE” (feat. Karriem Riggins) “There are no love songs on this project, because I didn’t experience love the whole time [I was writing the record]. This sounds like it’s a breakup song, but I came at it as a poet would. Sometimes, as artists, we can tap into emotions because we’ve been through them, but this wasn’t something that was current in my life at the time. It was more like being the director of a movie, but it was still very authentic and honest because I had experienced these things before, a long time ago.” “UPSIDE DOWN” “I definitely wanted to do a disco track. I was listening to a lot of Jamiroquai and early Michael Jackson—I love that disco-funk style, but with a pop structure. It really sounds like a celebration to me. It wasn’t on purpose, but you can hear this recurrent self-love messaging throughout this project. I’m motivating myself.” “PRETTY” “This is a little more dark. This was also done with Andrés, and I was like, ‘Let’s use electric guitar! We’ve never done that!’ He had this demo, and he was like, ‘What do you think about this?’ And I said, ‘That sounds weird, but I like it!’ For the verses, I put more of myself into them. It’s about the same topic as ‘E.G.O.’ but with more anger, so that you can feel the pain more.” “THE WAY” “This was a demo I’ve had for five years. Sometimes what happens is that you’ll have a demo, and it sounds very close to what the final version became, but it had no words—it was pure top-line gibberish. But the production and the ideas were there. I just had to experience a little relationship situation [for lyrical inspiration]. The way I describe it in the song, I was going through bad timing with someone—not quite a huge love affair; it was just one of those situations where you wonder, ‘What if?’ And in the song, I’m talking about how we missed each other because I was prioritizing my healing, and I couldn’t hold space for anybody else.” “SOLO” “I wanted this to be the last one because it represents that whole era of me starting over in my personal life. It’s about having no choice but to be on your own, and having faith and trusting life or God or whatever you believe in. Of course, I collaborate with people—people join me, leave me, and that’s life. And then, I just keep going solo until the next project. Sonically, I felt like this was a beautiful way to end, with an easygoing song that I feel like can talk to all age groups. It’s a song for everyone.”