Lorely Rodriguez, better known as Empress Of, has announced the release of her sophomore album, ‘Us’, due October 19th via Terrible Records / Caroline Australia. To coincide with the news, Empress Of has also revealed the lead single, ‘When I’m With Him‘, with an accompanying music video that marks the artist’s directorial debut.

“It’s been a long two and a half years making this project. I can’t believe today I get to tell you it’s done and yours soon”, Rodriguez wrote on Instagram. The album includes writing credits from the likes of Dev Hynes – who Rodriguez collaborated with on Blood Orange’s 2016 track ‘Best To You’ – and DJDS – who she collaborated with for billboard-charting ‘Why Don’t You Come On’ and cover of Lana Del Rey hit ‘Love’.

‘When I’m With Him‘ is “a contemplative track that finds Rodriguez navigating the growing disconnection between her and a lover, her airy soprano vocals twisting over a funk-laced beat. The song also finds her singing in Spanish, something that Rodriguez finds pushes her vulnerability. “I use Spanish [when] something is so personal that I can’t really sing about it in English,” she tells me. “It’s almost like an alter ego to sing in Spanish.””

The Honduran-American vocalist/songwriter creates introspective, self-empowering electro-pop centered around her impressive, acrobatic vocals. Born in Los Angeles and raised on Latin music and jazz, Rodriguez became obsessed with Björk as a teenager and decided to become a musician. She moved to the East Coast and began experimenting with music software on her laptop. She first gained attention by anonymously uploading a series of 15 minute-long experimental demos called “colorminutes” (named because they were simply accompanied by a single color each) to YouTube in 2012. Since then, Empress Of has gained wide critical acclaim for her singles, 2014 EP ‘Systems’ and 2015 debut album ‘Me’. ‘Us’ is the much-anticipated follow-up to this year’s singles ‘Trust Me Baby’ and ‘In Dreams’.

‘US’ ALBUM OUT OCTOBER 19 VIA TERRIBLE RECORDS / CAROLINE AUSTRALIA