For London-based alt-soul artist Levina, Invincible Summer is more than just a new album. Written over the course of two years, the record charts a deeply personal and musical journey through disconnection, self-discovery and, ultimately, a return to connection.

Due for release on 4 September, Invincible Summer takes its title from an Albert Camus quote Levina discovered during a period of depression and dissociation: “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” The phrase became a kind of north star for the album, reflecting her gradual journey towards joy and a renewed sense of being present in her own life.

“I’m really grateful to be releasing this record,” Levina says. “I’ve been working on it for the past two years and it’s been a journey. I’ve been on a personal journey and also a musical journey, and the album kind of accompanied me through that journey.”

Levina made the album with producer and artist Stephen Vamideli. She wrote all of the songs on piano and vocals before taking them into the studio, where they were recorded with live musicians. For her, that human element was particularly important.

“In the world of AI that we live in as well, it was important for me to get people, humans, in making human music,” she explains.

The record features drummer Romana and bassist Rosetta, while Levina also brought in her friend Nick to mix the album. It was mastered at Abbey Road by Cicely Boston.

“The whole process was just beautiful,” she says. “I took my time with this record.”

Musically, Levina describes Invincible Summer as an alternative soul record, with elements of folk and jazz. At its heart, however, is a much broader theme: “It’s a record about disconnection and finding a way back to connecting with ourselves, with each other, with the world around us.”




That sense of reconnection is also reflected in the way the album was made. Birdsong recorded in Levina’s garden found its way into the recordings, while stones collected from Brighton beach became percussion. An old upright piano was at the heart of the songwriting process – tangible, physical elements that grounded the album in the world around her.

The record marks a significant shift from Levina’s earlier work. She first came to international attention through Eurovision, subsequently releasing music with a major label. While she remains grateful for the experience, it also prompted her to think carefully about the kind of artist she wanted to become.

“Eurovision was an amazing experience and I’m super grateful for it because I learned a lot from it,” she says. “It was also a crash course in the music industry.”

Working with a major label brought clear advantages, but Levina found that it came with less creative control. Returning to independent music meant she had to reassess what she actually wanted to make.

“I had to figure out what kind of music I really wanted to make, what is the creative thing that I love doing,” she says.

She released two EPs independently while navigating the challenges that came with doing so. Then came the upheaval of the pandemic, which gave her even more space to question where she was going.

“When suddenly everything stopped, you had to deal with, ‘What do I want for my life? Where am I in this life? Who am I?’ All these very existential questions that we might never know the exact answer to.”

For Levina, that period was painful as well as transformative. She has spoken openly about going to therapy and confronting some of the things she had been struggling with, including years of dissociation.

“I’ve been looking a lot for validation from the outside, which is, of course, something I think a lot of us do,” she reflects. “But actually really listening to what’s going on in the inner world is so important and really listening to your gut feeling.”

That became one of the key lessons behind Invincible Summer: learning to trust what feels right, and to follow joy rather than external expectations.

“With Invincible Summer, I just kind of let go and did the music that felt natural and good to me,” she says. “I created it with a group of friends, basically. Without too much pressure, I took my time with it as well.”

That slower approach was important to Levina. In an increasingly fast-paced world, she believes there is real value in stepping back simply to create and enjoy the process.

“This for me was important – to enjoy the process,” she says. “And then hopefully people connect with it on that level as well.”

Listening to the finished record, that sense of peace is striking. Invincible Summer has a blissful, soothing quality, while still carrying moments of uplift and reflection. It feels optimistic without ignoring the darkness that preceded it.

Levina says that wasn’t necessarily the intention when she began writing.

“I definitely didn’t start the record in that way,” she says. “The songs just started because I was processing things. I was just writing songs.”

Initially, she didn’t even know she was making an album. As more songs accumulated, however, she realised she wanted to bring them together into a larger body of work.

Some of the songs were written when she was still struggling, while others emerged after she had begun to find her way through those difficulties. By the time she was producing the album with Stephen, Levina had gained enough distance to look back at the experience differently.

“I had already sort of come out the other side of it,” she says. “Then I could produce the album in a way that brought some more connection or joy.”

That doesn’t mean the difficult songs were left behind. Instead, they became part of the record’s wider message – a reminder that feeling lost is not an experience anyone has to go through alone.

“I wanted it to ideally have a positive impact on people,” Levina explains. “Even with the songs that are a little bit more reflective and maybe still quite lost, when I was very lost, even with those songs, to offer them as a way for other people to connect – so that they know that they’re not alone.”

That universality is central to Invincible Summer. Levina’s story may be deeply personal, but she hopes the emotions within it will resonate beyond her own experience.

“People go through those things,” she says. “They’re universal things we all go through.”

After two years of writing, recording and finding her way back to herself, Levina is finally ready to share the result. Invincible Summer arrives on 4 September – a record born from a difficult period, but ultimately shaped by the discovery that something hopeful can survive within it.

“I hope it’s something that people connect with and that people enjoy,” Levina says. “And that it adds some value to their life.”