Polish singer-songwriter Tomek Zdyb serves up a mood, a memory, and a mirror. Zdyb’s newest single, “Never Have I Ever, produced by hometown hero PishOne, is a sultry pop number shrouded in soft vocal tones and sentimental beats, like a slow dance with your past self. It’s a bilingual brainchild, hailing from a Polish stage production and using an English-language single that touches on self-discovery, queerness, and identity with an ease as magnetic as it is rudimentary.
Initially written for Alice in Burlesque-land, a burlesque take on the Lewis Carroll classic for the character of the Cat, the track started life as a theatrical ode filled with teasing, torment, and inner conflict. But in its English iteration, “Never Have I Ever” becomes a personalized time machine, transporting viewers to that maddening, vulnerable, and liberating time between childhood and full-fledged adulthood, when hormones intersected with harsh realities.
Zdyb’s songwriting method is personal, and that isn’t by accident. The song was recorded in a home studio, which he says is key to feeling safe and free as a performer. And that truth comes through in every note. His voice wobbles and tatters with every line, a seductive pain, like somebody telling you secrets in a packed room. “Never Have I Ever” is based on a beat that simmers more than explodes. It nods to Kylie Minogue’s irrepressible confidence and CupcakKe’s brash sensuality, but it makes its home in between, where it’s sultry but self-aware, catchy but complicated.
The song will help resonate strongly within the LGBTQ+ community, particularly for those who understand what it’s like to walk the tightrope of reconciling your identity in the face of scrutiny. But Zdyb pushes back against trying to pin down that sound. “Never Have I Ever” may be a queer anthem, but it’s also an invitation for all those who struggle with self-doubt, as well as the pressures of a heteronormative society, to reclaim their truth on their own terms. On “Never Have I Ever,” Tomek Zdyb fashions a confessional that’s confrontational and, ultimately, celebratory. It’s sexy, intelligent, and, most importantly, sincere.
Connect with Tomek Zdyb on Instagram – @tomek.zd
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