Toronto-based songwriter Dwi Riana is no stranger to collaboration. Be it with Julie Meunier, first with ‘World War X‘ back in 2023 and more recently ‘Elsewhere‘ (a love song for winter which “celebrates those cold days that send you into cosy refuge,” as we put it, “as well as the self-reflective peace which descends along with the snow). And don’t forget fellow Torontonian/Indonesian Keroncong band, Orkes Garasi, for the track ‘Ku Bisa‘ last summer, itself the product of another collaboration. The song formed part of the soundtrack for the film A Day Apart on the Seventeenth directed by Noel Pendawa. All of which is to say, Riana is an artist willing to enlist others to fully achieve the potential of their work. And nowhere is this clearer than on new single, ‘Springtime’.
Featuring Marshall Veroni (second vocals) and Jill Sauerteig (cello), the song is something of a follow-up to the aforementioned ‘Elsewhere’. The thaw after a long winter where the possibility of growth and love becomes real again. “I wrote this song on my classical guitar last spring, and it has evolved quite a bit since then,” Dwi Riana explains. “I have been a fan of Marshall Veroni and Jill Sauerteig for years now through Marshall’s LP In Fields. I’ve listened to this album over and over for the last few years, so Marshall’s vocals and Jill’s cello had become very close to my heart. To be working with them now is such an honour, and they really complete the vision I had for the song.”
‘Springtime’ is out now and available from the usual places.