"Castles" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Freya Ridings Freya Ridings (born 19 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ridings rose to prominence in 2017 with her ballad, " Lost Without You", which became a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. She followed this with t ...

. It was released as a single on 30 May 2019, through record labels

Good Soldier Songs Good Soldier Songs is a London-based, Independent Music Publishing Company, owned by Christian Tattersfield. Established in 2003, Good Soldier Songs represent writers such as Biffy Clyro, The 1975, Freya Ridings, Ollie Green, John Gibbons, The W ...

and

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, as the fifth single from her debut studio album, ''

''. The song was written by Ridings and

Dan Nigro Daniel Leonard Nigro (born May 14, 1982) is an American musician, songwriter, instrumentalist and record producer. He was the lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band As Tall As Lions. Nigro has produced, written and co-written songs ...

, the latter of whom also produced the song along with Yves Rothman, additional production was done by

Mark Crew Mark Crew (born 21 February 1985) is a songwriter, record producer, and mix engineer based in London, known for his work with Bastille, Rag'n'Bone Man, and the Wombats. Production and songwriting Crew produced the albums '' Bad Blood'' ( ...

, and Dan Priddy.

Background and composition

Produced by

, Dan Priddy, Yves Rothman, the song was written by Ridings and Nigro. The song additionally features background vocals by American singer-songwriter

Zella Day Zella Day Kerr (born March 13, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona. Day began recording music in her early teens, independently releasing her debut album, ''Powered by Love'', in 2009. Following ...

as well as Brendan Reilly, Emily Holligan, Kate Brady, and Simone Daly Richards. The song was written after Ridings went through "one of the most brutal breakups of her life", stating that she wanted to use the incredible amount of pain to create something that is "better than she thinks she can be and what that person thought she could be".

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Castles" was first released onto YouTube on 10 July 2019 at a total length of three minutes and twenty-eight seconds. The music video was filmed in

Shoreditch, London Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impo ...

Live performances

* Ridings performed the song on the Australian breakfast television program ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology ...

'' on 9 March 2020, in her first visit to the country.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 songs 2019 singles Freya Ridings songs Capitol Records singles Songs about heartache Songs written by Dan Nigro