it's complicated...

by China Moses

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Transparent turquoise vinyl + printed inner sleeve with lyrics.
    Hand numbered 151- 400.

    Cover artwork by Anthony Peyton Young
    Graphic design by Hachim Bahous

    Produced & Mixed by Troy Miller
    Vinyl Master by Benjamin Sauvignon for Translab Paris
    Pressed to vinyl by Marie Pieprzownik

    Includes unlimited streaming of it's complicated... via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 20 days
    edition of 249 
    Purchasable with gift card

      €20 EUR or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Transparent turquoise vinyl + printed inner sleeve with lyrics.
    Personalized message.
    Hand numbered 1-150.

    Cover artwork by Anthony Peyton Young
    Graphic design by Hachim Bahous

    Produced & Mixed by Troy Miller
    Vinyl Master by Benjamin Sauvignon for Translab Paris
    Pressed to vinyl by Marie Pieprzownik

    Includes unlimited streaming of it's complicated... via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 20 days
    edition of 150 
    Purchasable with gift card

      €25 EUR or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Gatefold digipack + booklet with lyrics.
    Hand numbered 101-200.

    Cover artwork by Anthony Peyton Young
    Graphic design by Hachim Bahous

    Produced & Mixed by Troy Miller
    Master by Bob Power for RPS & Benjamin Sauvignon for Translab Paris

    Includes unlimited streaming of it's complicated... via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 15 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      €15 EUR or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Gatefold digipack with booklet with lyrics. Personalized message.
    Hand numbered 1-100.

    Cover artwork by Anthony Peyton Young
    Graphic design by Hachim Bahous

    Produced & Mixed by Troy Miller
    Master by Bob Power for RPS & Benjamin Sauvignon for Translab Paris

    Includes unlimited streaming of it's complicated... via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 15 days
    edition of 100 
    Purchasable with gift card

      €20 EUR or more 

     

  • Cassette + Digital Album

    3 Flap U card. Printed white tape. Personalized message.

    Cover artwork by Anthony Peyton Young
    Graphic design by Hachim Bahous

    Produced & Mixed by Troy Miller
    Master by Bob Power for RPS & Benjamin Sauvignon for Translab Paris

    Includes unlimited streaming of it's complicated... via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.
    ships out within 7 days
    edition of 50 
    Purchasable with gift card

      €10 EUR or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card
    Download available in 24-bit/96kHz.

      €10 EUR  or more

     

1.
I put the key to the door I turn on the lights ain’t no way i’m thinking about you throw my coat on the floor pour a drink with some ice even though i can’t seem not to the night is well on it’s way diamond cuts ease the pain I close my eyes but what can i do now I think back upon the day I can finally sigh it’s just another night alone lay down on the floor I can’t quiet my mind and I still keep thinking about you I hear laughter outside and the sounds of night could this be a life without you there is calm in this space it all falls away I see the sun rise no longer afraid I pull down the shades and smile it’s just another night alone I’m alright alone and i’m not tired I guess i’ll go to sleep
2.
3.
I can be happy I can be blue I can be the worse person that you ever knew I sit here trying to explain it Seems to me you don't understand I don't give a damn And frankly baby I don't need a man Settle down and tell me how you want it Looking for a pawn or a worthy opponent You love my personality You don't want me to change But you don't want me to be Well honey I can do bad all by myself Don't need no son of a gun I want a partner And as we sit here Counting all the ways I could change Got me wondering what is it that you're wanting Such a delicate situation We got so much choice Nobody wants complications You know And I find it funny you see everybody wants to love but not unconditionally Well honey I can do bad all by myself Don't want a son of a gun I need a partner And as we sit here counting All the ways I could change You got me wondering What is it that you're wanting I can be happy I can be blue I can do my best to try to get through to you I am sick and tired of explaining Baby seems we hit a dead end Can you comprehend I'm asking here do we give a damn See for yourself baby is anything I'm saying sounding cool Oh we've done the small talk baby wait who's buying is it me or you Just wanna be on the same page baby It ain't about me versus you Hope you can really hear me baby Come on See all I'm really saying is I can be happy I can be blue I could be the worse person that you ever knew I sit here trying to explain it Maybe could you be my man Could you understand Or maybe we just don't give a damn I need for you to understand That what I need is a friend We can talk this out baby I ain't 'bout me versus you baby It's 'bout what you wanna do with your life And if you're feeling this vibe And if you don't well baby know that's all right We can both go our separate ways And that's ok
4.
Things ain’t gettin better in my part of town faith’s under the weather little hope to be found brothers selling on the corner got nothing better to do they’re livin’ in fear of no one not even the boys in blue I said things ain’t getting better in my part of town I keep on telling myself i gotta get up off my ass and change see that young woman over there she’s only 16 she don’t care about nothing she only worry about green they talk about us on the tv as if we were a zoo as if killing ourselves is all we know how to do I said things ain’t getting better in my part of town I gotta get up off my ass and change
5.
I not alone 41 years old I stand Ain’t no one I’d rather be with right now I know it may sound wrong But that’s ok Moving on Doing my best to not look at the past Ain’t nothing left back there but the ashes Of bridges that burned And that’s ok All the lies I told they weigh heavy The sum of past mistakes keeps on rising All the dreams I sold Still they haunt me But now I know But now I know It’s ok I let it all go 41 years old and day No one is perfect in this world anyway So I’ll keep moving on x 3 And that’s ok Keep moving and don’t you stop baby til you reach your goal.
6.
7.
Doors shut Music loud Can feel the heat coming from the crowd They came to dance the night away Everybody’s getting down They raise the hands the band is playing All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 Gunshots through the crowd All of a sudden the was Silence x 3 Gunshots all around Gun shot On the other side of town A corner store no one around And as she pulled up to the redlight that’s when It all started going down She saw people running running everywhere All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 Gunshots through the crowd All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 Gunshots all around You could only hear the Silence x 3 Gunshots through the crowd All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 I don’t know what it’s gonna take Can the love we have redeem our hate When do we dare to make a change Someone tell me what it’s gonna take Can the love we have redeem our hate When do we dare to make a change All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 You could ony hear the Silence x 2 All of a sudden there was Sirens x 3 The cops done gunned ‘em down You could only hear the Sirens x 3 All across the town All of a sudden there was Silence x 3 The cops done gunned ‘em down
8.
I can’t feel anything My heart is broken So many years have gone by some without words spoken It always felt as if time or distance had no hold on our devotion I adore you so But I had to let you go I had to let it go I had to let you go I can’t feel anything My heart is broken A light so golden The shadow of your smile could not be stolen Don’t want to cry but as you always said Breathe in the moment Not so easy though I adore you so But I have to let you go I have to let it go I have to let you go
9.
the pills and the potions to soothe my emotions i wanna drive all my troubles away my strange behaviour that puts me in danger it feels so much safer than places inside cause inside there’s nowhere to hide the spirits and powders i can shout louder bolder and prouder than all of the rest empty bravado to show all that i know to run from these places that haunt me inside cause inside there’s nowhere to hide can somebody hold me it gets so darn lonely and save me from pleasure that causes me pain i may need a shoulder wiser and older cause love is the only true craving inside cause inside there’s nowhere to hide cause inside there’s nowhere to hide
10.
It could have been something better It could have been something worse But it is what it is And it hurts It could have been something grand It could have been something good But it is what it is And it hurts Maybe it was too fast to mad to soon But it is what is and it hurts Nothing that we say now matters We did the best that we could And maybe if we knew each other better But it is what it is and it hurts Maybe it was too mad to fast to soon But it is what is is and it hurts Burned and crashed trying to reach the moon We both know nobody wins keeping score And so it is what it is I guess it is what it is Does it ever get better Or does is keep getting worse You’ll find my ring inside this letter Cause it is what it is And it hurts I rea I said it is what it is It’s gonna be what it be You didn’t want me no more Got me down on my knees it’s getting worse

about

I don't know where to begin except to say thank you—really, truly thank you.
Thank you for being curious enough to step inside this intense moment of creation that stretched between London and NYC, across time zones and heartbeats and the kind of musical magic that doesn't announce itself until it's already happening.

Terri Lyne Carrington - yes the one and only - listened to my previous album "Nightintales" and told me something I didn't understand at first: "You need to go home." Oli Rockberger lent me his incredible talent to shape and finalise the songs and later, Troy Miller, the producer of this album, said the same thing:
"You need to go home. You need to record in NYC."

I didn't get it, but I trusted. I've always trusted—sometimes blindly—trying to honor the wisdom and experience of the people who speak to me.

I was guided. I am not alone.

Troy and I spent hours talking about the sound we were chasing. He was insistent about one thing: he wanted to capture the essence of who I am on stage. "That deep voice," he said, "raspy, sometimes imprecise but always, always right." No one had ever described my voice that way—like imperfection was its own kind of perfection.

I was guided... I am not alone.

My musical sister, Lakecia Benjamin, was the first person I called. We had history—I'd sung on her album "Rise Up"—and she understood what this meant. Then Theo Croker, who's family in every way that matters. I reached out to Daru Jones because we'd had this project years back that never quite materialized, but damn if that man doesn't have a sound that hits different. Troy, who knows his way around a kit himself, heard the first measure of the demo for "My Part Of Town" and immediately asked: "Who's the drummer? Sounds like your rhythmic counterpart."
He was right. Daru and I have known for years that our sounds work beautifully together.

Mike King came through Theo—he was in his band and later became my mother's pianist when she was producing Theo. Theo brought trombonist Corey Wilcox, son of the great Wycliffe Gordon. Troy thought of his friend Michael Olatuja from their early days with Soweto Kinch. And Michael brought Marvin Sewell and Marvin brought 8 guitars...

I was guided. I am not alone.

But would everyone be free the same three days the studio was available? The same studio where Daru and I had recorded that earlier project that didn't materialize? The answer was magical: Yes.

I called photographer Adrianno Vannini, who captures the life of traveling musicians and has this gift for freezing musical moments—you can hear the sound in his images.

Three days to record everything. No time for restaurants, no time for anything but the work. But more than that, I needed to create family—everyone eating the same food, sharing the same nourishment, the same space, the same intention. Francisco Ciniglio, drummer and chef, cooked us dishes made of love, sustenance for the soul-work we were about to do.

I am not alone. Every decision, every encounter from my past led me here, to this moment, to this music.

This album you're holding, this music you've chosen to invite into your life—it carries all of this with it. The intensity of effort, the depth of love, the sacred intention woven between every note, every word you're about to receive.

Let me tell you about the decisions that brought me to you, brought this piece of audio art to your ears...

it's complicated...

credits

released October 3, 2025

it’s complicated… personnel

songs written & composed by China Moses & Oli Rockberger
except 
03 China Moses, Troy Miller & Oli Rockberger
08 China Moses, Cécile Unia & Oli Rockberger
09 Oli Rockberger

produced & mixed by Troy Miller
except 03 & 10 mixed by Jaclyn Sanchez
co produced by China Moses
mastered by Bob Power at RPS
mastered by Benjamin Savignoni
at Translab Paris, gravure: Marie Pieprzownik

recorded at samurai hotel queens, ny 
recording engineer Ted Tuthill

vocals recorded 
chez bob nyc, ny
chez china london, uk
chez dee dee new orleans, la
pirate studios brooklyn, ny
recording engineer China moses

drums Daru Jones
piano, rhodes, organ Mike King
electric & upright bass Michael Olatuja
all guitars Marvin Sewell
trumpet Theo Croker
saxophone & flute Lakecia Benjamin
trombone & tuba Corey Wilcox
all horn arrangements Theo Croker 
except 08 Troy miller

additional piano & keys Oli Rockberger 01-03, 06-10
additional synthesizer & percussion Troy Miller
additional drums Troy Miller 10
all vocals & vocal arrangements China Moses
China Moses & Troy Miller 07
additional vocals Oli Rockberger 01

chef Francesco Ciniglio
artwork Anthony Peyton Young
graphic design Hachim Bahous
artistic direction Anne-Laure Lemaitre assisted by George Gomez
studio photography: Adriano Vannini
cover photo: Ward Roberts
executive producer: China Moses for MIC Productions

this album is dedicated to Alberte Bouakaboul

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about

China Moses Paris, France

Singer, songwriter and producer China Moses evolves her artistry in truth. Defiantly real, her music resists what so many labels and critics desire: category, drawing inspiration from endless styles in the expansive lineage of Black American music. And listeners fortunate to observe her in live performance know the depth of her song interpretation. ... more

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