FEATURE:
Spotlight
PHOTO CREDIT: Emily White
her musical moniker, there is no denying the fact Absolutely is a remarkable talent who is going to have a massive 2026. I am new to her, so I wanted to include Absolutely here. Before getting to a new interview, I want to go back to 2024. In 2023, Absolutely released her debut album and supported RAYE on her 21st Century Blues World Tour. NOTION spoke with Absolutely about her incredible rise and debut album, in addition to her love of fantasy and sci-fi:
“In a universe where genres collide together and innovation sparks, Abby Keen, known by her stage name Absolutely, creates music that seems to transcend time itself. Her other-worldly R&B melodies echo as if journeyed from a distant future, before gracefully landing at their rightful destination: Earth.
Absolutely has previously worked behind the scenes, co-writing hits for big name artists like Normani, Saweetie, David Guetta, Anitta, and Tinashe, to name a few. But now, she boldly steps into her own celestial spotlight as a solo songwriter. Her debut album, Cerebrum, released in 2023, pushes back against conventional music, elevating her creativity to new heights.
Growing up in a musical household with her Ghanaian-Swiss mother and English father, Absolutely and her older sister, global star Raye, developed a deep love for gospel, soul, jazz, and church music. Inspired by her upbringing and guided by her profound connection to God, spirituality and the cosmos – Absolutely is light-years ahead, creating her own distinctive world of experimental beats and bold dreamy soundscapes.
Congratulations on the release of your debut album, Cerebrum. You described each track on the album as corresponding to a different room or chamber of your mind. What inspired you to take this conceptual approach?
Although the thirteen songs on Cerebrum are all sonically and lyrically very different, they all co-exist in the same world. I view the songs as an artistic translation of everything that goes on in my mind. They all inspired different feelings in me and so each song is my expression of that particular feeling. I find it difficult to express myself verbally, but speaking in music comes naturally to me – I always say that music is like my first language. I speak through melodies and the words come after.
Do you draw inspiration from any other sources, such as in literature, film, or personal experiences?
I love everything about sci-fi and fantasy. I’ve always had quite a big imagination and I grew up loving fairy–tales and fictional stories. I even used to make my own little story books. I think that childlike imagination never left me, it’s just expanding and evolving. I love to create new worlds, visually and sonically, into something that doesn’t already exist so that I can escape. My friends and family have always said that I’m a big daydreamer and I space out a lot, that is probably because I mentally run away to these places in my head, places that nobody else can see but me. I’m excited now that the more I create, I’m able to share these worlds with fans.
Could you describe the emotions you hope your listeners will feel as they immerse themselves in your musical journey?
A huge goal of mine, for the music I’m creating, is that I want it to wake up every cell in our bodies so that we snap out of the trance that life has us caught in. It’s so easy for us to take for granted the beauty within the small details of the world and I believe that we were created to immerse ourselves in the many wonders of God’s creation. However, the leaders of this world want us to be stuck in a system that benefits them, where we are numb to our surroundings and we go through the motions in a version of the world where everything is grey and where every day feels the same. I want my music to make us remember that we are here to enjoy our lives and to spark something in people that they may have forgotten ever existed. Through my music, I hope people can feel seen and free to just be”.
There are a few more interviews that I want to cover off before closing. CLASH chatted with Absolutely in August about sisterhood, All Points East and maintaining honesty. Even though she released her debut album in 2023, I think 2026 is going to be the biggest year for her yet. I believe she is going back on the road with RAYE for her new tour:
“A self-expressed introvert, it took Absolutely – Abby-Lynn Keen – some time to truly find herself onstage. It took a disastrous support slot with FLO – when myriad technical difficulties forced her offstage – and a pep talk from her loving father for Absolutely to come into her own. “Oh I was so scared!” she recalls. “But then my Dad took me to one side, and just said: look, what’s the worst that can happen? And I just let go. I let go of all those thoughts, and realised that I’m just here with people.”
It’s this everyday girl-next-door charm which makes Absolutely such a riveting figure. She’s writing as much for her peers, her friends, as herself and this lets her lyrics resonate with honesty. Take ‘I Just Don’t Know You Yet’ – an undoubted breakout moment, it came from a daydream at home.
“I was in my bed thinking really heavily about my future husband,” she laughs. “It was just really on my heart, and I had this spiritual connection to him somehow, without knowing who he was or why I was thinking about him… so it was really strange.”
When she went to the studio with Dave Hamelin, the two clicked into this emotion, and the song “just poured out… it honestly came together really easily.”
“I feel like he’s not like chasing anything,” she says of her studio comrade. “A lot of producers I’ve worked with feel like they’re trying to chase something that sounds like a hit. But he’s led by his freedom of creation. And it’s really fun, because I love creating whatever I feel like.”
Reflecting on her 2023 debut, she notes that “I wasn’t paying too much attention to the story and the lyrics. I just went, well alright… and whatever came out, came out. But now I’m focussed on what I want to say on each song – which takes longer, but the songs are deep, and intentional.”
With a flurry of live shows – and a fashion week event with her sisters – coming up Absolutely is itching to get back into the studio. “I’m gonna try and make more music,” she says firmly. “I feel like I’ve been in a space for the first time where I haven’t been creating as frequently. Usually, I’m prolific, so I want to get back to that space.”
As a kid, Absolutely adored the vocal range of Ariana Grande, but more recently she’s been vibing with Imogen Heap and Caroline Polachek, in addition to mainstays like Stevie Wonder. This is what soothes her, and inspires her – these are the people who she views as embodying success.
“Success is me being able to be 100% myself and not compromising that,” she notes. “And sometimes I feel like I have to do a little bit of that… you know, to play the game of the industry. But I want to get to a place where I can just do me whenever I want to”.
This interesting interview from PRINCIPLE that I want to drop in. Next year is a really busy one for Absolutely. She is supporting RAYE and Reneé Rapp. There is also possibility of a second studio album. The Tooting-born artist is one that everyone needs to listen to. She is a major talent who is rightly being seen as someone to watch closely:
“Despite no headline shows yet, you’re still very booked and busy. Next year, you are supporting RAYE and Renee Rapp in huge venues across Europe and North America. Does the aspect of performing to crowds that big now just excite you? You had the taste of an arena show last year when you supported RAYE at The O2. Now you’ll be playing there six times!
I’m honestly really excited. I feel like the O2 Arena show felt like my music belonged there. I feel like my music is so anthemic and huge that when I performed it at The O2, it was like, ‘Oh, okay, this is where my music’s meant to be.’ And I felt oddly really comfortable on that stage more than in the theatres. I’m excited to do an arena tour. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.
Your new single, “I Just Don’t Know You Yet,” went down a storm at All Points East. It’s quickly become your biggest song to date and has introduced your music to a new audience who are now probably going back and listening to your catalogue. What’s it been like seeing the song grow?
It’s been pretty crazy. I was on tour with BANKS when the song started getting a lot of attention. It was really surreal. I was just seeing millions of likes, millions of views, all happening so fast. And then even seeing in real life when I would go into a random gas station in the middle of America, where people would be like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re Absolutely!’ Like, that is so crazy and random. It happened so quickly. Within a week of teasing it, everybody demanded that I release the song. I was kind of in a tough situation with my team, trying to get everything done. But yeah, it was surreal and it is still surreal, but exciting.
What is it about the song that you believe has captured people’s attention?
Well, for me, when I was writing it, it was so pure and honest. And I think it was one of the first times that I had written a song based on a concept that I had, which was my future husband. I had him really heavy on my heart for some reason. That was like the first time where I had that feeling of really wanting to talk about it. The message is just so pure and authentic. I think a lot of people relate to the feeling of wanting that true partner. It’s also just a really big power ballad that’s very emotional. It’s a good song to scream in the car.
You mentioned a new album there, which you have talked about in other interviews. Is it done and ready to go?
I have all the songs. There are maybe two songs that I have to tweak and add a couple of things, but it’s pretty much done. I have to decide which couple of songs I’m gonna have to let go of, which is very difficult. It’s a couple of songs too many right now, but I’m very close.
How many songs do you have right now, and what is the number you want to whittle it down to?
I think I have 15 now, and I want to get it down to 13. It costs a lot of money, and I have top dog producers now, so I’ve got to get them paid right. 15 might just be a tiny bit too much.
Now that your career is reaching new heights, have your goals shifted?
I think even at the end of this album stage, like finishing this album, I’m now in a different space, which is that I want to not cover my voice so much. I feel like a lot of the music I’ve made previously has a lot of vocal effects. I’m not gonna get rid of that because that’s part of my sound, but I wanna make sure that my voice is cutting through because I think my voice is what really connects with people and not just the busyness and the production. I think the next phase after this second album is gonna be a lot more upfront vocals that are less busy with great songwriting”.
Let’s end with a brilliant new interview from Rolling Stone UK. Absolutely (Abby-Lynn Keen) talks about her second studio album, Paracosm. “For Keen, the album is a reminder, a motto to not lose sight of your child-like imagination. “I realised that I needed to reignite that wonder again and I think I managed to do that,” she recalls. As she scribbled down lyrics and slotted in studio sessions around a busy schedule, Keen started to notice her album come together. Her lead sin-gle, ‘I Just Don’t Know You Yet’ amassed a cult following online, with fans asking her to release a studio version, as well as a live one. She became more confident with developing new skills, like production, and putting her twist on her music”:
“Your first album, CEREBRUM, came out in 2023. How has the world-building and creative process been different for your upcoming record?
The process of creating it was very different to the first one. [CEREBRUM] kind of made itself. I would go to the studio, do melody passes, write lyrics, and later I’d come back one day to finish it. We made the whole album in a few months, but with this second album, I definitely paid way more attention to detail. It’s been two years since I started making it, and it has been so many different versions of itself. I have a whole [record’s worth of songs] that didn’t make the album that’s sitting in my untitled folder. I spent a lot more time making sure that everything was intentional. I spent multiple sessions going back in and seeing how many layers could be added and reinterpreted.
Albums are expensive, and touring is costly as well. Little Simz famously talked about the difficulty of financing tours and new projects. What have been your biggest industry obstacles?
There’s a lot of pressure, but I think my love for music just overrides everything. I love making music so much. I love songwriting. I love the whole art of putting a song together and creating visual worlds. There are some difficult aspects – of being in the public eye and doing interviews.
You’ve got an album on the way and a new single, ‘No Audience’, out very soon. What are you hoping fans will take away from your next project?
I hope people hear the album, because I spent so much time on it, I would just love lots of people to be able to hear it. I’d like it to help people reignite their imagination again. I don’t know if I’m hoping for anything in particular, because everything that I want is already happening, like the tours. I’m really excited about my album coming out. Everything’s already mapped out”.
I am going to end there. Anyone who is unfamiliar with Absolutely needs to seek her out. Ahead of the release of her second album, go and check out what has come before. 2026 is going to be her year. After laying down these foundations, support RAYE and establishing herself as this incredible and distinct artist, the future is looking very bright. Be certain to put Absolutely…
ON your radar.
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