Browsing Tag

Contemporary Rnb

Demo in The Flesh has released their sonorously smooth RnB Trap hit ‘First Contact’

After making their 2019 debut, Demo in the Flesh made a 2020 return with their sensually soulful RnB Trap hit ‘First Contact’.With their sonorously smooth single, Demo in the Flesh delivers refreshing romanticism which only the lucky find outside of soundscapes. With the repetition of ‘I just wanna be direct’, the artist points out how simple love can be and sends a nuanced invitation to reject inaccessible and undependable love which appears through smoke and mirrors.

The slow tempo single is as perception-shifting as it is indulgent to listen to. Here’s to hoping we’ll hear plenty more from Demo in The Flesh in 2021 and beyond.

You can check out First Contact for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jaron Smalls – Aint’ Plan It featuring Jack Doyo: Passionately Gritty RnB Hip Hop

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n2WjlWM7B8fGpHBwfbcqjzaE1hUvgopIk

With his latest single, ‘Ain’t Plan It’, North Carolina independent artist, Jaron Smalls, proved that slamming cotemporary feats of RnB Hip Hop don’t need to compromise when it comes to offering lashings of soul.

The stylistically diverse track exhibits the best of the artist’s passionately gritty approach to production which knows no bounds when it comes to pulling from a plethora of genres, but in its essence, Ain’t Plan It is a served-straight-from-the-soul exposition of the complexities of modern romance. It’s a rollercoaster and rollercoasters don’t come much more salacious than Ain’t Plan It.

You can check out Jaron Smalls’ latest track Ain’t Plan It via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Millie Gibson serves smoky, jazzy soul in her debut single ‘Leon’

Amy Winehouse comparisons are easy to make, but there’s plenty more reasons to get excited about Millie Gibson’s striking vocal timbre in her debut single, ‘Leon’, than just reminiscences to a soul icon.

The smoky, jazzy serving of soul is as refined as contemporary RnB gets. Which is even more impressive given that the singer-songwriter and pianist achieved such maturity and nuance in her sound at the age of just 19-years-old.

Even with the state of socio-political uncertainty in the UK, on the basis of Leon, the future looks incredibly bright for Millie Gibson. There’s an unparalleled sense of sensitivity in her sound. You don’t need her bio to tell you that she strives to make the most purposeful music she is capable of. Just hit play.

You can check out Millie Gibson’s single Leon for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Millie Gibson serves smoky, jazzy soul in her debut single ‘Leon’

Amy Winehouse comparisons are easy to make, but there’s plenty more reasons to get excited about Millie Gibson’s striking vocal timbre in her debut single, ‘Leon’, than just reminiscences to a soul icon.

The smoky, jazzy serving of soul is as refined as contemporary RnB gets. Which is even more impressive given that the singer-songwriter and pianist achieved such maturity and nuance in her sound at the age of just 19-years-old.

Even with the state of socio-political uncertainty in the UK, on the basis of Leon, the future looks incredibly bright for Millie Gibson. There’s an unparalleled sense of sensitivity in her sound. You don’t need her bio to tell you that she strives to make the most purposeful music she is capable of. Just hit play.

You can check out Millie Gibson’s single Leon for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Angelique ‘Let Go’ the new single from her stunning album ‘Grows Back’

Louisiana-born singer-songwriter Angelique puts her classically-trained, three-octave range to great use on her new single ‘Let Go’, a sultry, sensual R&B number with a serious soulful groove and the clever use of heavily phased synth parts and staccato stop-starts to the bass highlighting the power and timbre of Angelique’s voice.

There’s some serious Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, or the much-lamented Whitney Houston vibes across the track, deep, soaring, overlapping vocals mixing with thumping bass and a trappy little drum pattern, choral backing vocals sitting perfectly underneath Angelique’s lead. ‘Let Go’ is the perfect showcase to Angelique’s new album ‘Grows Back’, a mix of chilled R&B and upbeat disco-influenced groove. The future looks extremely bright for Angelique.

Hear ‘Let Go’, and the rest of ‘Grows Back’, on Spotify. Follow Angelique on Facebook.

Review by Alex Holmes

Jaonere ‘Redefine’s Soul with his banging new single.

Smooth, Motown-tinged R&B, contemporary yet with some serious retro soul vibes, ‘Redefine’ is the new single from Jaonere’s latest EP ‘All We Have Is Now’, and it’s really very, very good. Chilled, laid-back groove, intimate and thought-provoking lyrics, perhaps a smattering of jazzy Ghanaian Highlife influences in the rhythms, and a soft, soulful vocal, Jaonere delivers a stunning late-night soft, mellow track as a leader to the EP.

Janoere’s voice is creamy, fluid, and sleek, the lyrical content sensitive and contemplative, confessional almost. It’s a perfect blend of intimate and personal with modern, passionate and tender soul; it deserves a listen. And then another.

Hear ‘Redefine’ on Spotify; check on Jaonere here.

Review by Alex Holmes

Isla Croll gives us a soulful lesson in love with ‘Irreplaceable’

15-year-old RnB singer-songwriter Isla Croll proves with her latest single ‘irreplaceable’ that maturity in sound and soul is in no way related to the number of decades you’ve been roaming around the planet.

With her tendency to embrace everything from Jazz to Hip Hop to Pop to Funk in her soundscapes, her resolving, emotional and honest tracks speak directly to the soul. Irreplaceable directly speaks to souls recently maimed by feelings of insecurity. Isn’t modern romance just incredible for that?

With a voice so imploring and an artistic intent so pure, she’s made it difficult for any other RnB artists to follow in her footsteps, thus making her sophomore single somewhat of a paradox. The majority of your consciousness may be drawn to her magnetically velvet vocals, but there’s a lot to be said for the intricate Indie Jazz-laden instrumentals which trickle, swell and soar in synergy with Isla Croll’s pitch-perfect harmonies.

You can check out Isla Croll’s inspiring new single for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Luke Crimiel is definitely not ‘Lost’ with this timeless R&B take on neo-soul

If being born into a musical family in the performance melting-pot of New Orleans doesn’t predestine you to musical excellence, then I’d wager that very little will. Starting out playing drums in his godfather’s church band at the age of four, Luke Crimiel moved to Los Angeles aged eighteen and pushed his focus into songwriting and performance.

It’s certainly paid off; ‘Lost’, from his new album ‘11th Street’, is an impeccable piece of poppy soul-based R&B, reminiscent of neo-soul contemporaries Kadeem Tyrell, [K S R], or SiR. However, there’s elements of older-school cool influences here too, hints of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and even old-time crooners like Sinatra, Sammy Davis, or Dean Martin.

Danceable, catchy, with a pulsating back-beat and bassline but entirely carried along by Crimiel’s soulful vocal delivery, and harking back to the 70’s and 80’s golden age of gospel-influenced soul whilst at once sounding contemporary and timeless, ‘Lost’ could truly be the launchpad that lets the world find Luke Crimiel.

‘11th Street’ is out now. Check out Luke Crimiel on Spotify and through lukecrimiel.com.

Review by Alex Holmes

JEF P – Pull Up: An Ardently Intoxicating Jazz Infusion

If you think that the artwork to JEF P’s single Pull Up is archaic, just wait until you hear the ardently intoxicating levels of old-school soul in the RnB track.

Pull Up resonates as more than music, you can tell that the Washington-based artist’s audiophilic tendencies heavily influenced the soundscape, but there’s sticky-sweet meta poetry breathing through the melodic verses which swing in perfect tempo with the Jazz-laden instrumentals.

I don’t bound the term ‘masterful’ around lightly, but with Pull Up, it’s impossible to find a more apt adjective for the dreamy, hazy, contemporary vibes.

Pull Up is available to stream via all major platforms through this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Feel the love with Kev Cartier’s ardently smooth Hip Hop track “Bomb” featuring Ammo

The chaos in 2020 didn’t strip the romanticism out of RnB Hip Hop, one of the most amorously smooth tracks which dropped this year was undoubtedly Kev Cartier’s passion-soaked hit ‘Bomb’ featuring Ammo.

The light and indulgent sun-kissed rhythms work alongside Kev Cartier’s sultry RnB vocals to offer rhythmic entrancement and plenty of ardent emotion which won’t fail to fill your soul as you listen to the high-vibe choruses.

Despite the accessibility of Bomb, with the contemporary and slick production, there’s no denying that the mix encapsulates the very best of contemporary RnB Hip Hop. Kev Cartier is definitely one to watch.

You can check out the official music video to Kev Cartier’s single Bomb by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast