Rexxy, the independent project of Peruvian-born singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Monica Velasquez, has released ‘Could Be You’, a yearning slice of electronic synth-wave drawn from her latest album ‘Futura’.
Built around melodic bass lines, seductive synthesisers and layered, dreamy vocals, ‘Could Be You’ opens with the chatter of a karaoke bar, placing the listener in the room as Futura waits for her turn to sing. In the story of ‘Futura’, a girl from another world who travels to Earth in search of love, this is the moment she begins to feel something for Jace without understanding what it is. She picks a song that simply feels right to share in front of him, and the song becomes an unconscious confession of feelings she has not yet put into words.
Monica wrote the story of ‘Futura’ first, then created individual musical moments to capture exactly what Futura feels in each scene. ‘Could Be You’ went through around four versions before arriving at the album take. She mentally immersed herself in the scene, then translated that feeling into music. The track was written on a Fender P-bass and shaped with a Microkorg, a Dan Electro guitar and a Third Wave synth, all produced in Ableton Live 12 Suite.
“‘Could Be You’ is about longing for what is missing,” says Velasquez. “Whether that’s a romantic connection, an experience of tenderness, or a connection we once had and lost. The song is an attempt to express that emptiness we sometimes carry inside us, and the mysterious search for whatever, or whoever, might fill it. That uncertainty is what the song means to me: the feeling of knowing that something is missing without knowing exactly what it is.”
‘Could Be You’ has been selected for New Synthpop, a public Spotify playlist curated by synth-pop artist Color Theory, which focuses on contemporary 80s-influenced synth-pop, has more than 42,000 saves and is updated weekly.
‘Futura’ is accompanied by an original comic book created with Velasquez’s husband, illustrator Darby Kaighin-Shields, so that the story can be heard and read together. The comic has already found its way into independent comic book shops, and the project was recently featured by The Jersey Sound. Fans of Electric Youth, Chromatics, Desire, Marsheaux and Still Corners will find a natural home in Rexxy’s world.
Since her 2013 debut, Velasquez has built an independent catalogue that includes ‘Talk To Me’ (2015), ‘Mother Nature’ (2023), ‘Velvet Lips’ (2024) and ‘Futura’ (2026). Her earlier work has drawn coverage from ElectricityClub.co.uk and Paperblog, and a live session on WFMU.
‘Could Be You’ is out now.
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