Lila Tristram, musician, fiction writer, artist and teacher now based in Wiltshire is a friend of TRISTE©. We fell in love with Black and White Memories Ignited by the Scent of Springtime Explode in Colour released in December 2022 as a collaborative project with The Last Dinosaur’s Jamie Cameron,a nd followed her since. After the intimate home, recorded, produced and mixed by herself and released in 2023, Lila got hidden for two years in a remote countryside studio, put together a 5-piece band and emerged with an elegiac indie-rock record, emerge with an elegiac indie-rock album, the release of which is, at the moment, not yet announced. In the meantime, while the wait for the announcement of her new album becomes more and more feverish, Lila released some songs from the album: Sounds Like Easter, and Baby were both premiered here, and Closer was also presented on TRISTE©. In 2025 Promising and Matha May came out and now we have Overtake, a new, song from the yet untitled album, that will be available on all major streaming platforms from tomorrow, May 16th, but that we have the honour and opportunity to have here on TRISTE© as an exclusive premiere.

What Lila Says: “Overtake is a very gentle song with a deep core; it examines the idea that sometimes in order to rescue someone, you have to sacrifice parts of yourself. For me it’s been a beautiful journey back into writing acoustic music, there’s a beautiful simplicity when it’s just me and my guitar.“

Overtake is characterised by intricate fingerpicking and melancholic melodies and serves as a poignant reminder of just how powerful a solo performance can be.The song opens with delicate fingerpicking, an intimate recording where the touch of the string can be felt, even the quietest breath can be heard. As the song unfolds, gentle clarinets accompany, sitting just in vocal range, providing an almost-human countermelody. Subtle, eerie synths join the
fold, creating an almost alien soundscape for what can only be described as an otherwise beautifully organic live recording.
Underneath the soft colour pallet, there is no doubt that Overtake still has the ability to pull on heartstrings. The music offers a calm, warm world to escape into, yet the lyrics are a deeply honest, unafraid to explore the nuanced interplay between beauty and melancholy:
“I know I can be so difficult sometimes / Bur I’m just trying to say I love you“.

Recorded and produced by Lila Tristram at Goldsmiths Electronic Music Studios. Mixed by Gus White (Maddie Ashman, Edward Cross) and mastered by Tim Debney (Sufjan Stevens, Thom Yorke).

“All the music I’ve been releasing lately has been this epic, full-band sound. But for eight yeears I lived in London, embedded in the folk scene. I wanted to return to my roots, to my acoustic guitar, and just write something simple from the heart“.

Overtake will be out on all major streaming platforms from tomorrow, 16th May 2025. Look HERE for more information on Lila Tristram.