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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

The claws are out in Harmonical’s latest single, Cat on Heat, featuring Élan Noelle

Posted on 5 September 2022

It has been a phenomenal run for the effortlessly distinctive RnB artist Harmonical (AKA songwriter & producer James Stretten) with his cinematically contemporary songs appearing on the credits of Hollyoaks and constantly spun on BBC Introducing.

His latest single, Cat on Heat, featuring the enrapturing robust vocals of Washington RnB soul singer, Élan Noelle, is yet another reason to fall head over heels for his funk-riding euphonic sonic signature.

With a narrative as compelling as the Copacabana, the lyrics in Cat on Heat are almost enough to bring out the popcorn. The dynamic that the lyric “she’s my best friend, but she is like a cat on heat” sets up a scenario that most will be able to relate to.

The music video to Cat on Heat premiered on August 11th. Check it out for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bradley Foster advocated self-love and responsibility in his hazily optimistic hip hop track, SOMEDAY

Posted on 24 August 2022

For his latest single, SOMEDAY, the UK hip hop luminary, Bradley Foster, collaborated with the sensational neo-soul vocal dynamist, Izzy Foster. The jazzy earworm is driven by Foster’s introspectively insightful bars that find the perfect position in the mix above the hazy hip hop beats, which will undoubtedly be a hit with fans of Kendrick Lamar, Little Simz and Loyle Carner.

Optimism may be in short supply these days, but Bradley Foster brought it by the smorgasbord in SOMEDAY, which makes a compelling case for self-love and eases you into the enlightenment through kaleidoscopic grooves.

With his debut LP, which flows in the same vein as SOMEDAY, in the pipeline, adding Foster to your radar is one of the best acts of self-care you can do for yourself today.

Here is Bradley Foster’s take on his latest release:

“SOMEDAY is the lead single from my album, expressing hope and self-belief. I was inspired to write this song after coming back from Sri Lanka, where my perspective shifted, and my mentality progressed into a state of wanting to address my problems and grow.”

Check out Bradley Foster’s latest single on Spotify & SoundCloud.

Keep up to date with all the new releases via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Good Time: Honey Made grows tired of the games with the groovy delight Upstairs

Posted on 24 August 2022

After delighting our faces with 2019’s Perfect Getaway, Honey Made are rather incredible on a sensually loving single that will have many embracing their lovers tightly Upstairs.

Honey Made is a 9-piece Austin, Texas-based indie primal-soul RnB band who are inspired by the greats such as James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Earth Wind and Fire.

Gliding in swiftly with a classy tone that might cause uncovered necks to blush suddenly, Honey Made makes that silky treat that is so easy to digest. Vocally excellent and with an aura that shall take you places in your mind that you had forgotten, which brings your mood back to true freedom. There is a hum in the speakers that can’t be taught, as their intuitive melodies bring great joy to all who listen closely.

Upstairs from the 9-piece Austin, Texas-based indie primal-soul RnB band Honey Made is one of the more crisply woven-into-your-soul singles that will make you smile. There is an incredible quality attached here that is rather magnificently created and world class to the max, as you just imagine that sparked up night that has turned into something memorable.

When you look inside those eyes and see that romantic flame, it’s best to keep it alive.

Listen up to this top new track on Spotify and see more news via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Annabel Brett makes sure we get the message in her alt-soul pop single, Voicemails

Posted on 23 August 2022

With the vocal poise of a 1950’s bluesy soulstress and the cutting indie folk pop edge of artists such as Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers, Annabel Brett is breath-taking in her dreamy pop single, Voicemails.

The vocal distinction gives few clues to the 23-year-old independent artist’s influences, and it’s a very similar story with the light, minimalist and acoustics. The two-minute tender track eclipses everything lo-fi should be; Voicemails resounds like you’ve just caught a Truman Capote character in an intimate melancholic moment.

Check out Annabel Brett’s latest single, Voicemails on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ozzie Aguilera is fresh from his seductively unapologetic Latin Jazz-Pop single, Nasty Boy

Posted on 15 August 2022

Here to prove there is little more awe-inspiring than someone completely embracing their autonomy is the Mexican American singer-songwriter, MUA and entrepreneur Ozzie Aguilera and his latest Latin Jazz-Pop single, Nasty Boy.

The soulfully unapologetic single delivers the eloquent reminder that everyone you meet will have their own narrative of you, but yours is the only one that is true and that carries any weight. The light year colour-seeped melodies give Nasty Boy an almost dream-like feel, while Ozzie Aguilera wraps his sultry vocal dynamism around the well-metered swoon-some canter of the lyrics.

Nasty Boy was officially released on August 12th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New-age crooner Giovanni Christian is the epitome of Fly in his latest single.

Posted on 14 August 2022

Here to teach us the definition of fly, and ensure we don’t forget the troubled pathways of our history, is the new-age RnB crooner Giovanni Christian with his 2022 album, Hot Boy (Songs about H.E.R.), featuring the stormer of a lead single, Fly.

After growing up in LA the African-Caribbean descendent had two worlds to inspire his sonic palette. The high-production glamour is served right alongside the deep summer-saturated Afro-Beat grooves that infectiously pull you into the artist’s enigmatic energy. If any artist has what it takes to shift the RnB genre forward, it is Giovanni Christian. Get him on your radar.

Purchase Hot Boy on Apple Music or check out Fly on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Violet Nines brought the heat in their fiery soul-pop jam, Dancing with Fire

Posted on 12 August 2022

Seemingly, no genre was off-limits in The Violet Nines’ latest single, Dancing with Fire, which melds angular indie guitars with fiery soul-pop vocals, disco grooves, jazzy sax stabs and funk-to-the-core basslines.

It is rare to find an outfit that oozes talent and euphoria in equal measure; the rhythm-led Minneapolis-hailing ensemble is a dynamic exception to that rule. The record is rampant with that irreplicable live music feel; we can only imagine the energy when they are bringing their collaborative alchemy to life. It feels purely accidental that their sonic signature is so commercial, but that strips none of the gloss from their enlivening distinction.

The official video for Dancing with Fire will premiere on August 12th. Sample the funk for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anne Musisi speaks to our loveless world in her seminal single, BE NICE

Posted on 9 August 2022

The fearlessly lyrically confrontational artist Anne Musisi has never been one to mince her words. With her seminal single, BE NICE, she pulverised the notion that women should continue to meekly skate by on their vulnerability and nicety, while the rest of the world treats them with contempt.

Even though I was raised on a steady diet of 90s Riot Grrrl, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, I’ve heard a fresh voice delivering vindicating empowerment. The moody, dark and synth-heavy track sees Musisi seamlessly switching between spoken word dominant bars and hyper-smooth neo-soul vocals that do more than hitting the spot; they caress it.

“Why should I be nice?” a seemingly innocuous question; under Anne Musisi’s fiercely demure duress, which sees her spill frustration for the way she’s been disregarded, infuriated, and mistreated, it’s an emboldening inquiry into the dark world of misogyny and prejudice.

The official music video for BE NICE is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yasmine Gill rises above the past with her best release yet called Woman

Posted on 6 August 2022

After delighting us with a feathered lather of beauty on Feel, Yasmine Gill heals all wounds like a war doctor sent from above to help us build our world properly again on Woman.

Yasmine Gill is a sensationally gifted London, UK-based Italian-Canadian soul-filled jazz singer-songwriter and inspiration to many.

”What makes a woman? A woman can be resilient and multidimensional, vulnerable and strong, assertive and gentle, confident and humble, and never needing to give one up for the other. They can be either, or both, or none at all, and yet they remain true to their name. I am a woman, I am proud, and I am powerful.” ~ Yasmine Gill

It feels like you are in a transformed world of tranquil peace when Yasmine Gill’s exquisite vocals appear suddenly in your seduced speakers. Easing her sultry angelic energy swiftly as our heart skips, there is so much enriching air to breathe that feels so good. Lips trembling with a knowing smile, this is something rather special.

Woman from London, UK-based Italian-Canadian artist Yasmine Gill is a simply excellent song made with love. With an aura that feels so genuine and kind, with a smooth beat that could illicit a quickening of the heartbeat. This is what authentic class sounds like.

Showing us once again why she is a must-listen when you need some inspiration, Yasmine Gill might have you feeling so romantic again. Do you feel it too?

Hear true grace from a music goddess on Spotify and follow her on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

LA Jazz Scene Icon Sam Hirsh Created Melodic Chemistry with Amber Navran in His Seminal Single, Hot Slow

Posted on 3 August 2022

Taken from his LP, Quarantine Dreams, Sam Hirsh’s standout single, Hot Slow, featuring Amber Navran, is everything it says on the tin. Rather than cooking up a tried, tested, and uninspired blend of soul, Hirsh delivered jazzy melodies which artfully blossom around the smoky – almost trip-hoppy – whispered vocals.

In the LA jazz scene, the pianist, composer and educator is renowned for the soulful energy in his compositions; they are everything people who bemoan ‘they don’t make them like they used to’ could ask for. Better yet, right from the first hit, Hot Slow is smooth enough to melt into. For the same reasons I fell in love with California by Mr Bungle, I will be giving Hot Slow plenty of repeat attention.

Hot Slow is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast