British pop powerhouse RAYE has issued an apology to fans who purchased the physical vinyl edition of her highly anticipated sophomore album, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE, revealing that the records do not feature the finalized audio mixes.
Speaking with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, the South London singer-songwriter opened up about the grueling nature of completing a record. She described the process of locking down the final mix as "beautiful but agonizing," explaining that strict manufacturing lead times forced the vinyl variants to be pressed before she had fully finished tweaking the tracks.
"My vinyl is a first edition. I really apologise… I’m apologising to anyone who’s purchased an album," RAYE confessed during the interview. "Because you are getting the album. It’s not a fraudulent album. However it is a first edition. I want you to know the digital versions of some of these songs — some are quite different. And you just need to embrace that because I tried my best."
The ambitious new project, which serves as the follow-up to her smash 2023 debut My 21st Century Blues, was officially released on March 27. When initially announcing the record, RAYE noted that the tracklist is conceptually divided into four "seasons," with each side of the physical vinyl representing a different temporal phase.
Despite the unexpected mixing discrepancies between the physical and digital formats, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE has already been met with widespread critical acclaim. Reviewers have praised the record's grand, showstopping maximalism and deeply relatable lyricism, cementing RAYE's status as a formidable independent force in modern pop.