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Sparxsea – “Forever Love” (out Nov. 10)
Portland, Maine indie folk-pop artist Sparxsea, aka Chelsea Toussaint’s new single “Forever Love” (out Nov. 10) is a gentle and moving ode to love and the changing seasons of our lives. Sparxsea heals us and herself with her soulful voice and dark story of hope.
This song was written in the aftermath of a codependent and tumultuous seven-year relationship, and brought to life by the sympathetically emotive drumwork of Jerome Deupree (Morphine), the tender classical guitar picking of Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band) and the steady hand of producers Will Bradford (SeepeopleS, TheWorst) and Will Holland (Pixies).
“Him leaving was the second big loss of someone close to me,” Sparxsea says. “Before that, my mother passed away from an opiate overdose. I was in a big depression, my lowest point. He had lost his father right before I lost my mother. We were both traumatized. It was a rollercoaster of hot and cold right up until the end. But that ending allowed me to let go. It set me free from that critical version of myself that I was pushed into as a child. It was a disintegration, and I started over with an entirely new friend group.”
Sparxsea’s poignant lyricism flows through lush guitars and accompanying piano lines, proving her to be a dynamic and accomplished songsmith. “There were days when love was hard to find / Then days when love was burning fire.” Sparxsea lost herself in the push and pull of this tempestuous emotional sea, reminiscent of her childhood and dealing with alcoholic parents fighting until 4am, wondering if this would be another night when the cops would be called. Her chorus of “Set me free so I can be forever love” is a battlecry to herself to find stability, mental health and freedom. This is forward-thinking, thought-provoking, sophisticated pop music of the highest order.
“This song is about being able to forgive ourselves.” Sparxsea says. “I made the ‘Forever Love’ video as part of my healing journey connected to my mother’s death. She was a beauty queen, and got into a bad motorcycle accident that disfigured her face. That’s when she changed, something in her that she couldn’t heal. The green dress I wear in the video is similar to her dress in the beauty pageant. The dress represents the different seasons of life, moving from a princess bedroom and the barn to the flowers in the snow. No matter who’s around you, you can still be surrounded by love.”
Raised in northern Maine by loving, supportive, musical, abusive, alcoholic parents, Sparxsea and her sister spent days in nature, while nights at home were a battlefield. Existence swung between two opposite worlds, with mornings forced into fresh starts from the deterioration of the day before. Peace became an ultimate goal. Sparxsea quietly dreamed of becoming a singer, years later awakening as a dentist and first in her family to graduate college. The sudden loss of her mother fractured Sparxsea’s family and sent her into a depression that birthed EP SHINE (2018). The record would go on to open doors for her and serve as a catalyst to her career. Her uplifting single, “Alive” (2016) was recently used in the indie film Dole Mates (2022) and dark pop single “Don’t Let The Fire Die” (2019) was on the Damnationland soundtrack and title track at the film festival.
During the 2020 pandemic and temporary layoff from dentistry, Sparxsea released her first single “Little Wooden Boat” from forthcoming LP On the Sea (out 2023), illuminating personal and societal fears of imperfection and the unknown. Its video stars Maine-based solo sailor Holly Martin on her ongoing expedition around the world. In late 2020, Sparxsea released “Chariot”, a serenade to lifelong adventure, sung from stunning lupine fields in midcoast Maine.
“Forever Love” will be the third single from On the Sea, a liberating album of discovery that features Nikki Glaspie (Nth Power, Beyoncé), Tim Reynolds (Dave Matthews Band), Nate Edgar (Nth Power, John Brown’s Body), Jerome Dupree (Morphine) and Dana Colley (Vapors of Morphine, Morphine). It’s currently being produced by Will Bradford (SeepeopleS, theWorst) and Will Holland (The Pixies) at Chillhouse Studios in Boston, MA.
“This upcoming record is all about freedom, liberation and discovery,” Sparxsea says. “These songs are attached to nature and the sea, how big the world is, and setting out to see what’s there. Realizing there’s a whole ocean out there just waiting to be explored.”