We Speak Music
Sohodolls return with ‘What Kinda Love’
Brand new Sohodolls single ‘What Kinda Love’ was written by central songwriter Maya Von Doll when she was in a really bad place in her life. She’d lost her job, was suffering from insomnia and anxiety, was out of a record deal and had just become a parent, and then lockdown hit and it seemed like her musical dreams were completely over. The track’s themes explore the feeling of your life slipping away and thinking the only place you’ll find excitement is in your daydreams.
Starting with gritty fuzzed-up riffs, ‘What Kinda Love’ drops into classic dark Sohodolls pulsating synth-based infectiousness, with their trademark sumptuous and seductive goth tendencies wrapping the listener in a thick gloss that’s hard to escape from without being addicted to the track.
“I wrote this song when I was in a bad place in my life. I had put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy, suffered from insomnia and anxiety, was out of a record deal and suddenly didn’t have the day job I’d always had. I had handed in my notice at my London office and was interviewing for new roles in the City when lockdown hit. I’d got to the final round of interviews for a finance firm and was banking on having a new career adventure but that all evaporated with Covid. I felt I was now in a lockdown within a lockdown. I had no music studio so I’d write this song on my walk to the supermarket in a scruffy tracksuit feeling invisible and like an utter unemployed failure. This was months before Bang Bang Bang Bang went viral giving Sohodolls a new lease of life and a new record deal.”, explains Maya Von Doll.
In Maya’s words, the song is about “how drained, weak and unfit you feel post-pregnancy, poorer and despondent. And with that came the fear that I was no longer independent, attractive nor strong. I had been feeling for a while that my dreams were over. I didn’t think I could ever find love nor be successful. So I thought ‘All of my excitement will now have to come from my imagination because it could never happen in real life’. And then I thought about that thought – the power I have always had to retreat into my mind and escape or exist there. I would pass attractive people that I would never meet and I thought it would be great to write lyrics about an invisible person relishing in her power of imagination. In it she could have anyone and do whatever she wants with them. She could also be the version of herself she accepts.”
A globally enforced lockdown revived Sohodolls classic ‘Bang Bang Bang Bang’ into an unexpected viral TikTok hit among the Gen Z glitterati and put Maya Von Doll back on track with her music career.It so happened that Madonna had posted a recording she made of her daughter Estere Ciccone performing her own original choreography to the track and as part of the ensuing TikTok trend ‘Bang Bang Bang Bang’ rocketed up the Billboard Top 50 and is now sitting on over 200m streams across platforms.
The new viral attention inspired Sohodolls to reform and release new singles ‘Letter To My Ex (Thank You Goodbye) and ‘Bad’ in 2022, which both picked up considerable press & radio attention, including airplay from Nels Hylton on Radio 1’s ‘Future Alternative’, Frank Skinner on Absolute Radio and features with highly regarded music blog Atwood Magazine. In early 2023 Sohodolls returned again to release a new re-write of ‘Bang Bang Bang Bang’ in a stand against gun violence.
Otabek Salamov (aka Needshes) produced ‘What Kinda Love’ and Future Cut (Lily Allen, Shakira, Rhianna) helped Maya Von Doll bring out the stomping hook in the track. It may also surprise some to know that 80s Billy Ocean track “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” is also an inspiration behind the song.
“There was a song in the 80s that had the hook ‘Get out of my dreams, get into my car’ and I thought ‘My life, my status is now the opposite of that 80s male rockstar” explains Maya Von Doll. “So, I flipped that sentiment to “Get out of your car and get into my dreams’ because that’s the only way I could ever have someone I desired”.
“An absolute tune!”- Melvin Odoom, BBC Radio 2.
TIHANE’s debut album ‘The War on Love’ is a genre-blending journey that flips the classic love song on its head—featuring romance, rage, and resilience through a sound inspired by her Polynesian Croatian roots she calls ‘Indigenous Soul’. Blending vintage soul, hypnotic grooves, and electronic textures with raw storytelling, this album explores the mysteries of life, love and healing.
Co-produced by Segnon Tiewul and TIHANE, ‘The War On Love’ features vintage record samples and rich live instrumentation, bringing together artists and producers from across the globe—including Ghana, India, Bermuda, the UK, and the US—and blending genres from R&B and Neo-Soul to AfroHouse and World Fusion. One moment you’re in a smoky jazz room steeped in golden-era soul; the next, you’re dropped into a futuristic Afro House beat flip.
The first single from the album, ‘Throw It Back,’ has dropped on VEVO with a stunning visual of TIHANE wrapped in a python snake, Polynesian dancing in a lush jungle. The track, which has picked up BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music airplay, fuses exotic melodies with a strong beat and thick low end that feels sensually, spiritually, and wildly alive. Directed by TIHANE with cinematography/camera by Chris Oeurn, color grade by Cris Blyth and assistant camera operation by the song’s co-producer, Segnon Tiewul, the ‘Throw It Back’ video boasts a motley crew of adventurous creators who merge cinema with raw ceremony.
On the single, TIHANE says; “I hadn’t produced a track in years. But one day—mid-heartbreak—I locked myself in a studio and let the pain move through me. No plans. Just pure flow. It was raw. It was sensual. It was powerful. That was the moment I realized just how much of my power I’d been giving away—like so many women do. Performing love. Proving worth. Fighting to be chosen. This song became the sound of me remembering my own pulse. The lyrics came through fast, like they’d been waiting. A feminine force—both fierce and tender—took over. She wasn’t asking. She was commanding me: back into the body, back into pleasure, back into truth. Throw It Back might sound like a dance track—and it is—but it’s also ceremonial. It’s for anyone who’s had to move through ache… and figure out how to dance in that fire.”
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TIHANE currently lives between Los Angeles and London, crafting sonic sanctuaries for those ready to feel again and rise again. The single and album follow the release of her track “Ain’t That A B!tch” last year, which got significant acclaim from Clash Magazine, EARMILK, CULTR, and more.
TIHANE’s powerhouse vocals have drawn comparisons to Amy Winehouse, Sade, Cleo Sol, and Adele—delivering the kind of soul you feel in your bones. From nostalgic melodies to her signature twist of rap-singing and percussion-driven drops, her sound is a dynamic force. She’s performed across four continents—from historic venues like L’Olympia (Paris) and Bush Hall (London) to cultural platforms like TEDx, Stamp The Wax, and BBC Introducing. Festival highlights include SXSW, Soho House NYC, Homecoming (South Africa), Nyege Nyege (Uganda), and Africa Nouveau (Kenya).
TIHANE’s debut album ‘The War on Love’ — an ode to radical tenderness— is both a personal testimony and a universal offering that invites listeners to feel deeply, move freely, and remember who they are.
Catch TIHANE performing at Pizza Express Live in London on July 22, 2025.
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