After a seven-year silence, Cold Specks - aka Ladan Hussein - returns from the shadows with Light For The Midnight, her fourth and most personal record to date. Known for her hauntingly soulful voice and a sound untethered by any single genre, the Somali-Canadian singer-songwriter dives deep into vulnerability, emerging with a record that’s both aching and full of light.

Following the critical acclaim of I Predict A Graceful Expulsion (2012), Neuroplasticity (2014), and Fool’s Paradise (2017), Hussein retreated from the public eye, grappling with profound mental health challenges. The music that eventually came from what she went through is steeped in that lived experience - raw, tender, and defiant. “I definitely wanted to reflect on the last couple of years because it impacted me so much,” Hussein says. “But I also wanted the audience to walk away with this album. You know, the songs belong to them once I release them.”

Light For The Midnight is the sound of storm and solace, a mix of fervent ballads and atmospheric pop, fitted together by Hussein’s unmistakable voice. The album’s emotions are matched by its musical fullness. Co-produced by Hussein alongside Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, Dry Cleaning, Aldous Harding), it also features lush string arrangements from Owen Pallett (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Sampha) and contributions from Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck), Chantal Kreviazuk, Malcolm Middleton (Arab Strap), Ben Christophers, Ed Harcourt, and Jonathan Quarmby.

Written between Toronto and Bristol, Light For The Midnight is as much about endurance as it is about transformation. It marks a return; and not just to music, but to self. “This album was a way back,” Hussein seems to suggest with every note. The textures are expansive, but the stories are intimate, reflecting her journey as an artist, a survivor, and a Somali-Canadian woman reclaiming her narrative. Cold Specks has always occupied a singular space in modern music - part soul siren, part avant-pop alchemist - and with Light For The Midnight, she plants a flag in new emotional territory.