Kovacs

Kovacs at Scala

Dutch singer Kovacs — the voice behind 2023’s Child of Sin, which featured a duet with Rammstein’s Till Lindemann — releases “Leave the Sun Behind” on August 28, the second single in a new chapter that began earlier this year with “A Perfect Crime.”

Kovacs: “Where its predecessor explored the blurred space between memory and imagination, ‘Leave the Sun Behind’turns towards a different kind of memory: a nostalgic farewell to the carefree summers and innocence of youth. It is a song about growing older without completely letting go of who you once were — capturing the strange beauty of looking back at a world you can remember vividly, but can never return to.”

Musically, “Leave the Sun Behind” continues Kovacs’exploration of electronic music while retaining the brooding atmosphere and unmistakable intensity that have always defined her work. Drawing energy from the raw intensity of Berlin’s clubs, she carefully explored how to merge it with her own distinctive, soulful voice. The journey led her back to the roots of early electronic music: old-school electro and futuristic 1970s-inspired sounds, with clear nods to pioneers like Kraftwerk.

The music video for “Leave the Sun Behind” continues the visual world established with “A Perfect Crime.” Once again shot by renowned director of photography Martijn Broekhuizen — a longtime collaborator of Anton Corbijn — and directed by Jiske Rijkels, the film builds on the raw and cinematic visual language of its predecessor.

Who is Kovacs?

Kovacs broke through in 2015 with her debut album Shades of Black, partly recorded in Cuba, which charted in 36 countries and produced the European hit “My Love” — a Bond-like tango noir track that hit number one in Greece and the Netherlands. That year she also won an Edison Pop Award and played North Sea Jazz, Glastonbury, Sziget, Rock am Ring and Pinkpop.

Her second album, Cheap Smell (2018), leaned further into raw, personal songwriting.