For his second EP, South African singer-songwriter Will Linley ditched the something-for-everyone approach of his first project, 2022’s Kill All My Feelings EP, in favour of something much closer to the heart. “I think the Kill All My Feelings EP, it was an amalgamation of different songs that represented where I was at that point in my music career,” Will Linley tells Apple Music. “I felt like I was still trying to figure out my sound. I didn't quite know where I wanted to sit myself. This time, I feel I've been able to say more of what's been on my heart. I feel Magic is a direct reflection of who I am in this space right now. This EP is more thought out. It's more intentional. It's really just an extension of my heart to everybody else.” Branding his sound as “happy, sad music”, Linley juxtaposes incredibly relatable lyrics over lighthearted pop sonics that capture the highs and heartaches of youth, love and self-discovery. “This EP, I think is a direct reflection of my heart,” he explains. “My goal is to continue to create music that is authentic and so real. And we are only just getting started.” Here, he talks through the EP, track by track. “Magic” “It's one of my favourite songs I've ever done. I think it's a little bit different. I think it's something that fans wouldn't have probably expected from me. I think it's a little bit left leaning, which I think is really nice. I love the sonics. I love the melodies. I love the words. I love the, 'You and me feel something like magic.’ It's just... I feel like I always struggled with [saying] 'I love you’—it never feels like it's enough to say to somebody. Sometimes you're like, 'I love you,' but what is this that I'm feeling? Because I feel like it's more than love. And I was talking about this with some mates of mine, Jackson [Foote], Colin [Foote] and Alex [Borel]. And we got chatting and Jackson sat down to the piano and then he started playing this piano riff and... 'You and me feels something like...' He was like, 'It's just magic.' It's magical what you feel with this individual. And it just... Once that clicked, we were like, 'Oh, we've got it.' And the rest of the song was finished in an hour.” “Last Call” “This was the genesis track of this EP. For me, this song perfectly rounds up everything that is nostalgic for me and music. We wrote that song inspired by ABBA, inspired by Journey, inspired by all these incredible artists that I would listen to when I'd go party with my friends, or that I would listen to in the car. And I think with ‘Last Call’, it came out quite quickly. I wrote it with Teddy Geiger, David Balshaw and Bubele Booi. David and Bubele are the two South African guys I do a lot of my stuff with. And I think, within the session we struggled to find a space, to find a place to go. Then Teddy started sitting down with some guitar stuff, and then I started singing a bit of the chorus. And then things just slowly started to click over. And I think it was one that we revisited a lot of times because we knew something was special about it, but it hadn't clicked just yet. We rewrote our verses multiple times. We reproduced the track a billion times. It was probably the biggest labour of love from our side. And that's the blueprint for what Magic is, I think. I think the thing that I've been telling people is like, 'I'm doing cinematic pop.' I want to make music that makes people feel something.” “On Paper” “‘On Paper’ is one of my favourite ballads that I've written. I wrote it with a friend of mine, Paul [Meany] and Lisa [Scinta]. And I think Paul is one of the greatest minds in terms of someone that you can talk to, someone that is there to listen. And Lisa is just an unbelievable writer. I was going through a period of my life where I had met someone that I really loved being around. And there's that whole saying, 'Opposites attract.' And I found myself looking at me and this individual, and I was like, 'We are the same person. Are we going to work out? Is it going to be fine? Is it going to be okay? I know that we don't work on paper, but I really love spending time with this person. And maybe, similar things can attract sometimes.’ We sat at the piano and we thought of all the little things that [made] me and this girl incredibly similar. It's the first song that I think people really get a proper glimpse into my heart. I think a lot of the upbeat big pop tunes are really special, and they're really fun. But sometimes you need to slow things down and strip them down to their core, and really try and uncover what is going on in somebody's heart and mind. And I think, for me, ‘On Paper’ is exactly that. It’s the first ballad that I'm putting out. I love ballads; it’s what I first fell in love with, within music. And I think it's so honest.” “Maybe” “I wrote this at the beginning of [2023], in February. I wrote it with a guy called Peter Thomas and a writer called Jake Torrey. And that was an example of actually a day where I went in with strangers. I'd heard of Pete and Jake and I knew that they were incredible people, and they were friends—they’ve been besties since they were kids. I walked into the room, I was really nervous. And I sat down in the room with the guys and we started listening to One Direction songs. I said to them, 'I just want to make pop music. I just want to come in here and write one of my favourite songs I've ever heard.’ And we started listening to ‘Perfect’ By One Direction, all of these absolute tunes. We had this lyrical concept of, 'Don't make me wait on a maybe’—it’s exactly what ‘Maybe’ is about. But not wanting to wait it out on somebody if it's not ever going to happen. But also, don't string me along. Like, 'Tell me now, let me know. Chat to me.’" “Gracie” “I wrote [just after] I'd left South Africa. My brother had just gotten married, so I was on cloud nine and it was a very exciting time. And Jonny Shoor, one of the guys that I was writing it with, had just gotten engaged. [It got me thinking about] ‘Oh man, I wonder who I'm going to marry one day? I wonder who I'm going to end up with one day?' And that whole idea of like, 'I don't know if I've met this person? Have I met them? Do they live down the street? Are they on the other side of the world? When am I going to cross paths with this person?' Or, when am I going to know that, 'Oh, this person that I've actually known for 15 years, I’m going to marry her.' I've always wondered. And so, we just wrote that. I think it's so honest, it's so real. Who doesn't think about this person, man? I can't get over this idea of this incredible woman that is out there somewhere. And I can't wait for the day that our paths cross. And that we figure out like, 'Oh my gosh, you're my person.’" “Tough (The Girls Song)” “I did this with Jackson; I think he's one of the nicest, most awesome dudes ever. And I've been such a fan of him for such a long time. He was originally in a band called Loote. And now he's been doing a lot more writing. ‘Tough’ is a song for the girls. Jackson and I were like, 'We want to write a song that the girls put on before they go out to go and party and have a fun time—but we also need to write it in such a way that the guys also want to sing it.’ So, it's a song for everyone. And I think for me, being able to work on that lyric of, 'Girls just want to have fun,’ but make our own song from it, has been so much fun. What I love about it is it took my own heartbreak and turned it into something fun. And that's why I call it happy, sad music. I was chatting to Jackson and I was like, 'Well, this is what's going on.' And he was like, 'Well, let's not write a sad song. Let's just write like, oh, tough, girls just want to have fun.' Like, 'You and this girl weren't meant to be. And that's okay. These things suck. But it's what it is.' And I think being able to flip a sad moment and a sad situation into something really fun and exciting and turn it into a song that people can dance to, is so awesome.”