There's nothing fudgy about Maddie Ashman's crystalline debut "Toffee"

Maddie Ashman, however, defiantly carves her own space both in her capacity as a producer, as well as using her toolkit as a vocalist. Fascinated by the power and unlimited possibility in simple intonations, the London-based auteur self-delineates her music as "microtonal" and employs a rigorous individuality in everything she does. It's the perfect secret sauce that has already turned the heads of driving industry creatives from Caroline Polachek to Jacob Collier.

Releasing her debut single, "Toffee", Ashman lodges her dynamic experimentalism from the off. Brimming with undulating moments of loud and quiet, clarity and chaos, the track collides punchy drums with a mellotron and glitched-out cello solos. It lays a grandeur carpet for her incandescent and lofty vocals to sit atop – cinematic, baroque, and glistening.

Speaking of the track, Ashman shares “I wanted to capture what it’s like to feel again and embrace emotions after a long time of suppressing them. The chord sequence was deliberately constructed to create a feeling of being constantly pulled in both directions - almost relentlessly ungrounded, yet also as if nothing is wrong. It’s totally exciting, confusing, empowering and overwhelming.”

Whilst it may be called "Toffee", any fudginess has been refined out in the track's conception. What is left among the discordant production is a pure, addictive sugar syrup. The kind you continue to crave, without ever veering sickly sweet.