Olivia Dean embarks on her next chapter with positivity in “OK Love You Bye”

Sometimes, there are moments in life that prove pivotal, but ultimately don’t reveal their importance until long after. For rising artist Olivia Dean, it transpires that a barney during a 2018 England World Cup match would inspire two of the songs that comprise her debut EP OK Love You Bye, which is released today.

Following in the wake of recent single “Password Change”, her new outing (and title track) “OK Love You Bye” continues the tale of her previous release. Whilst “Password Change” belies the frustration of relationship miscommunication between Dean and her boyfriend, “OK Love You Bye” proffers a more considered spin on the incident once the emotions have cooled down.

“I literally wrote ‘OK Love You Bye’ the day after ‘Password Change’, which is a song about having an argument in a pub while the football’s on,” shares Dean. “It is supposed to feel like the morning after an argument, but reflecting on it more positively and being like ‘there’s things you did wrong, there’s things I did wrong, but we can get through it’. It’s a moment in time for me - capturing a specific memory and feeling.”

That positivity is palpable with the spritely percussion and jaunty keys that underpin the core of the track. Smattered with brass and lilting melodies, Dean’s signature dulcet tones imbue “OK Love You Bye” with an earnest relatability and maturity that belies her youthful self-awareness. Accompanied by a frivolous visual, the track is the flip side of the coin to her previous effort.

“Both videos were shot over two days, just like how I wrote them - we shot ‘Password Change’ and then ‘OK Love You Bye’ the next day too," Dean continues. "We did it outside loads of abandoned pubs around East London - I had to break and enter into one of them! Working with (director Stella Scott) was amazing - she couldn’t have been a better director to work with on my first videos. I love working with women, and she really got the stories behind both songs and she’s just so cool.”