Elena Tonra reopens the door to Ex:Re with “Sleep”, a new preview of Save As, the second album from her solo project, due October 30 via 4AD.
The Daughter vocalist wrote the song while alone in Paris, recording an early demo in her hotel room. Some of that original texture survived into the finished track: acoustic guitar processed through a vocoder, a drum machine and a muffled atmosphere that feels like hearing a party through a wall.
A song for after midnight
Despite its title, Tonra describes “Sleep” as something she would dance to. Its mood belongs to late nights and after hours, turning insomnia into hypnotic alternative pop.
The single arrives with a live session filmed by Cuan Roche at 4AD’s London studio. It follows “Radio Station” as the second preview of Save As.
Ex:Re’s unexpected return
Tonra never planned to make a second Ex:Re album. The project began with its self-titled 2018 debut, but in 2023 she brought several song sketches into the studio with Fabian Prynn, producer of the first record, and those sessions eventually became Save As.
The nine-track album also features Josephine Stephenson on cello, Hinako Omori on synthesisers, Ben Reed on bass and Jethro Fox on electric guitar. Rather than following one overarching narrative, the record explores memory, overthinking and the places we travel to escape our own minds.
Save As is released October 30 digitally, on CD and vinyl.
Source: Ex:Re / 4AD press release.