Born in Punjab, India, and now based in Canada, Arlesque has channelled a difficult past into a creative outlet. Though he was bullied as a child, this led him to become an artist using songwriting as an escape, morphing into a passion that drove him to move abroad at eighteen and pursue music as his future.
That musical style often holds a deeply cinematic, emotional core. It’s loud feelings channelled into quiet, alone moments. Arlesque’s latest single, ‘Eros’, is part of this.
It starts with a lonely piano line. From there, strings pulse, acoustics pluck, and the electric guitar rings out. Above, Arlesque’s vocal emerges, circling around a moment of bittersweetness, delivering gorgeous, enduring melodic lines. Harmonies are selective, poignantly tying up lines without taking away from the introspective, singular nature. It rises to a huge climax, a cry of uncertainty and passion, before falling away.
He shares, “Eros came to me when I believed my heart had lost its capacity to feel that electric pulse of love. I was convinced that such vivid, all-consuming passion was beyond my reach, but I was so wrong. This romance reignited me, blazing with an intensity that felt so alive. Yet, deep in my heart, I wondered if this is a flame destined to fade with the summer’s end? I poured every fragment of that experience into this song, from the scents to the distinct style we both embodied, weaving together the transient moments that tethered us, if only for a season.”
Listen below:
