Kelly Lee Owens has already had an incredible year following the release of her self-titled debut album back in March. To cap off 2017, the Welsh artist is releasing a new 12” featuring her minimal cover of Aaliyah’s “More Than A Woman.” You can hear the song above.
Owens’ version deconstructs the original to its most essential parts, countering the dense layering of Timbaland’s production with her own nimble tribute. It’s Owens’ voice that’s the real focus here, more than capable of carrying the melodic weight of the song over the lithe beat.
In a press release, Owens described her process of breaking the song down:
“My love and respect for Aaliyah as an artist / vocalist and Timbaland as a producer increased ten fold as I picked the track apart and understood how intricate and layered everything was. I chose to combine my favorite elements of the original track with my love of analogue production – a stripped down version, and an ode to Aaliyah, one of the greatest.”
On the 12”, the cover is accompanied by a robotic remix done by Owens herself. In the same press release, she explained that “the remix of my cover was something I wanted to write and produce that gave the original track new life, and also gave people a sense of power – it’s unapologetic.”
The limited edition More Than A Woman 12” will be out on 12/07 via Smalltown Supersound. You can pre-order it here.
