Watch effe 'Lick The Flame'

Official Announcement | Published: May 21, 2026 1:54 PM EDT

(TBM) Naarm/Melbourne-based songwriter effe has a knack for making themes of earthly romance seem mystical. Today, she announces her debut EP, Solder, out August 7, 2026 via Artist House.

She also shares the lead single "Lick The Flame," which reckons with false intentions in an ill fated romance. The production lands somewhere between Y2K radio pop and trip hop, capturing the chic vulnerability of Solder at large.

On the track, Effe shares: "'Lick The Flame' is about coming to terms with the fact you're being led on. I wrote it with Alex Craig (After) who has such an ear for that nostalgic, y2k Dido sound that I love, so he was the perfect collaborator."

effe's music lingers between sensuality and vulnerability. The ascendant Australian artist conjures bleary scores to bursts of emotion. Trip hop and downtempo grooves frame musings on breakups, girlhood, and connection. The outcome harkens 2000s radio pop, with a wisp of bedroom haze. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Bjork, Portishead, and Lana Del Rey, effe creates songs that are dreamlike yet personally raw and equally suited to heartbreak, desire, and reflection.

Tinkering with Garageband on an iPad as a teenager, effe taught herself to write and produce, aided by piano skills she had picked up through lessons. She later studied film in Brisbane, the creative environment introducing her to friends-turned-collaborators. In the city's tight knit, growing trip hop and alternative scene, she developed perspective as a performer and experimenter. It was a more valuable education than any school can offer.

Relocating back to her home of Naarm/Melbourne, effe was exposed to a broader wave of futuristic sounds. This influence courses through her debut EP, Solder, out August 7, 2026 on Artist House. These five tracks examine transformation via intimacy. Alex Craig and Edward Quinn contributed to the process, imbuing an orchestral dimension that compliments effe's softness. On the EP, effe shares, "Ed gave me freedom to play around on the synths in his studio, though I spent the most time at the piano. You can hear the organic piano sounds in the songs, like the keys pressing and me pushing the sustain pedal with my foot, which is a cool textural element." Featuring contributions from friends and collaborators including Cam Tonkin, Maia Efstathis, Lukas Frank and Wilson Conn, the project captures the feeling of fragmented memories stitched together into something whole.

Across Solder, effe ponders the highs and lows of budding partnership. "Last year I fell in love for the first time," she says. "I made these songs in fragments. I was reflecting a lot on the previous experiences I had dating, which were confusing, frustrating, and sometimes crushing." "See-Through" probes the rush of revealing your full self to someone. "Faceless Angel" yearns for a ghost-like person who does not exist. "Lick The Flame" grapples with being led on, atop a Y2K, Dido-esque arrangement co-written with Craig. Simultaneously exhausted and euphoric, Solder meditates on varying levels of closeness - displaying a precocious command of honesty and atmosphere.