Browsing Tag

Jazz Pop

J reshaped the landscape of protest music with his jazzy guitar score, Shame on You

Posted on 28 January 2024

Busting the myth that protest songs need to antagonise in the same vein as Rage Against the Machine or Black Flag, the Brighton-based artist, J, exhibited how mellow sonic political activism can be with his latest release, Shame on You.

Paired with an aptly endearing official music video, the ‘oppressed version’ of the single, sans the snippets of dystopian diatribes from Trump and Bush, allows you to embrace the absurdity of our tumultuous political waters while rising above them as the lighter-than-air guitar lines seemingly defy gravity.

J’s guitar work is nothing short of phenomenal – his strings sing with a life of their own in the genre-fluid fusion of jazz, pop, and classical guitar, but notably, the secret ingredient is his unflinching sense of humour and his lack of artistic ego. It’s a rarity for an artist to be so talented and not locked into the singular vision of rock stardom; J always endeavours to create sonic experiences that resonate with his soul; in doing so, he opens up cathartic worlds with his virtuosic tongue-in-jazz-groove flare.

Shame on You will be available to stream from January 26th; stream the official music video on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Enchanting Chanteuse Annabel Hailey Reached New Celestial Heights in Her Single, Perfect for this World

Posted on 20 October 2023
Annabel Hailey

After introducing us to The City That Never Sleeps, the enchanting Nordic pop chanteuse Annabel Hailey enticed us into a new session of jazzy easy listening mesmerism with her latest single, Perfect for this World.

“You have to be broken for the light to get through” may be one of the most affecting lyrical epiphanies I’ve ever had the pleasure of soaking in. The conceptual luminosity of the classic pop score and Annabel Hailey’s ethereally pure vocal timbre which echoes vulnerability and power in the same breath makes it all the more enlightening.

In her own words:

“The song talks about how we carry a burden that no one knows about. We put on a brave face and carry on like we’re okay. We often think that being brave is about not showing we are hurting, although being vulnerable is the most courageous thing to do. We are all broken in some ways; it’s a part of this journey. Perfection is not the goal and doesn’t exist; we are perfect for this world as we are, humans in progress. We define who we are with our thoughts and actions; let your light shine bright.

I end with a quote Anais Nin made famous ‘We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are’; making assumptions and judgments on others is misguided and unnecessary.”

The Finland-born singer-songwriter, who spends her time between Amsterdam, the Netherlands and NYC, hit the one million streams mark with her EP, Phases, which debuted in February 2020. We’re unequivocally sure she can do the same again in her next EP, which is due for release in 2024.

Perfect for this World will officially be released on the 20th of October; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tylar Smith dropped a nostalgia atom bomb with his retro jazz-pop hit, ONE MORE CHANCE

Posted on 29 September 2023

Get in the Doo Wop swing with Tylar Smith’s jazz-pop nostalgia atom bomb of a single, ONE MORE CHANCE. The award-winning Australian-born singer’s reverence for retro pop and old-fashioned soul, powerful vocal lines that could start a Rockabilly riot and his ability to spin a powerful narrative over his melodies that will hit your ears like candy has put him on the right path towards his dream of becoming an international recording artist.

With the timeless appeal of ONE MORE CHANCE and music fans increasing their proclivities towards nostalgia, the young artist, who started cutting his teeth in the music industry before his teens, is sure to make an ever-lasting impression with his debut EP, REMINISCENT, which has been crafted over the last 12 months in collaboration with a US Grammy-Nominated producer and songwriter.

ONE MORE CHANCE will reach the airwaves on September 29; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlotte Lansman grooved through the last rays of summer while celebrating new love in her jazz-soul single, Stupid Love

Posted on 5 September 2023

Charlotte Lansman delivered the definitive London jazz sound while lyrically moving away from soul cliches in her latest single, Stupid Love. The London-based, Bristol-born singer never fails to hit the sultry with a little bit of grit mark in her singles that bring elements day to day-to-day reality into luxe installations of sonic beguile; Stupid Love is far from the exception.

By evading hallmarked cliches, she was free to focus on the way we wear rose-tinted glasses to cope with the false truths and how wearing your boyfriend’s shirt to the station in the morning cloaks you in impassioned ardour and enables you to fall in love with the world of around you. It’s almost a paradox how her song crafting is completely antithetical to your average love song but reaches the pinnacle of romanticism regardless.

With Joe Rodwell in charge of the production, which sees new romance explored through laid-back grooves, retro synths, rhythmically arrestive Latin jazz beats and guitar riffs that will make the last rays of summer feel even sweeter, Stupid Love became an uplifting triumph.

Stupid Love was officially released on August 24; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Embark on an ochre aural adventure with Ross Cantrell’s single, Peach Skies, ft Sam Thompson

Posted on 7 August 2023

After graduating from Bath Spa University with a First-Class Honours Degree in Music and releasing a superlative string of successful singles, the saxophonist and composer, Ross Cantrell has invited his fans to embark on an ochre aural adventure by unveiling his debut album, Golden Hour.

While each of the seven singles serves up a melodic remedy that will indulge your senses in catharsis, the standout jazz-fusion single, Peach Skies, featuring Sam Thompson is the perfect introduction to Cantrell’s arresting ability to bring presence of mind to his listeners.

From an intro of reverberant drenched in 80s nostalgia synths, the downtempo amalgam of smooth jazz and electronic pop gets to work embedding under your skin, implanting ease with each mellifluous progression that exhibits Ross Cantrell’s natural talents when it comes to subduing you into a sonic world of sheer sonic serenity.

The halcyon days may be over in our society, but endless swathes of tranquillity await anyone willing to hit play.

Stream Peach Skies and the LP in full by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bristol singer-songwriter Dolly Doo put the soul into ephemeral connections with ‘Aint Nothing Serious’

Posted on 14 July 2023

Hook-up culture may get a superficial rep, but as the siren of soul, Dolly Doo, alludes to in her latest single, Aint Nothing Serious, no-strings-attached arrangements can be the ultimate ephemeral remedy.

The jazzy RnB pop amalgam is an extension of the Bristol-based singer-songwriter’s limitless genre fluidity; whichever stylistic territories her harmonically ethereal vocal lines and richly Elysian instrumentals drift into as she is following the muse, one thing remains a constant, the grace with which she brings to life her complex metaphorical concepts.

Her songwriting style and the genre pools she dips her superlative toe into evoke a certain amount of nostalgia, but there is just enough contemporary light bleaching her harmonious hits to give her sound swathes of contemporary appeal.

With a debut EP in the pipeline and performances at Boomtown and Bristol Harbourside Festival behind her, she is definitively one to watch.

Aint Nothing Serious will be available to stream from July 14 on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: Ella Rossi negated adorated anxiety in her ethereal indie soul pop sophomore single, Linen

Posted on 16 June 2023
Ella Rossi

After finding her voice as a jazz singer, the LA-born, Montreal-based artist Ella Rossi has flourished as one of the most seminal RnB Pop singers of her generation. With a vocal timbre as rich as the staccato guitar chords, few ethereal indie RnB Pop soundscapes spill as much tonal sanctity as her sophomore single, Linen, which explores the sensual highs and the tormenting lows of a relationship you can’t leave in the rearview mirror, despite never knowing where you stand in it, or how the severe the wounds will be when time finally closes on it.

With a vocal range so luxe and rich it would make Elon Musk feel inferior, Ella Rossi is a diamond in the rough; it is only a matter of time before major record labels want to mine her. Her capacity to captivate with her honeyed harmonies and so-radiant-they-glow soundscapes is second to none. Rossi is the ultimate proof that if you stay in your own creative lane, there will be no one out of your expressive league.

Ella Rossi said:

“Linen is about a passionate but complicated relationship and being unable to resist the attraction, despite the potential consequences. The lyric, “wrapped in this linen”, represents a sense of comfort and intimacy while alluding to a feeling of entrapment in a dynamic where there is no longer a clear view of how the other person feels.”

Linen will release ahead of Ella Rossi’s debut EP; stream it via Spotify and SoundCloud from June 16th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Annabel Hailey took us to ‘The City That Never Sleeps’ in her latest nostalgic pop hit

Posted on 29 April 2023

The jazz-pop siren, Annabel Hailey, has proven why a million Spotify streams came to her with ease after she released her latest evocative world music earworm, The City That Never Sleeps.

In a superficial world, it is hard to find the real ones who desperately seek phenomena that stir the soul; behind the luxe cinematic production of The City That Never Sleeps, there are ample affirmations written into the gentrification-mourning lyricism to establish Hailey as a unique icon of soulful autonomy.

The Finland-born, NY and Amsterdam-based singer-songwriter exudes an effortlessly natural grace as she projects her distinctively unparalleled vocal harmonies into the mic over the trickling keys, mellifluous guitars and smooth sax lines. If you can’t remember the last time you felt aurally awakened, hit play and remind yourself.

The City That Never Sleeps is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Andelo made an irresistible jazz-pop plea in ‘Take it Easy on Me’

Posted on 26 April 2023

Easy listening has never been easier than slipping into the superlative slice of jazz, Take it Easy on Me, from the artist and producer, Andelo. It is a far jazz pop cry from Andelo’s internationally accoladed and celebrated former releases, which pay homage to 80s pop and rock anthems, but there’s no doubt that jazz-pop is also one of his wheelhouses. His signature theatrical flair is more nuanced in the jazzy ensemble, but it resounds all the same, especially when the swooning sax lines proliferate the single with seduction.

The flourishing piano keys, bluesy guitar licks and steady percussive fills tightly enmesh to deliver a sensuously mellifluous platform for the featuring female vocalist’s vulnerable harmonies that project the fear of getting burned in a new relationship when you can still feel the sting of old flames dying out. We’ve all been there; few can allude to the sensation as soulfully.

Take it Easy on Me is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

KASIA is spellbindingly subversive in her jazzy RnB pop single, Isn’t Love Strange

Posted on 17 April 2023
KASIA

With her hair-raising vocal lines pooling into the ethereal atmosphere of her latest indie alt-pop single that pulls in jazzy RnB motifs, KASIA is spellbinding in Isn’t Love Strange.

Love is lyrically depicted as many things, but strange is far from up there as one of the most common archetypes. Plateauing far above the tired tropes, KASIA tunes into the blurred lines of affection, alluding to how conflicting the transpiring emotions can be. Communicating how fear is often an uninvited guest on the honeymoon of new relationships, KASIA artfully illustrated how much we put on the line when we put our vulnerability in someone else’s hands.

If Isn’t Love Strange was the 1000th song the singer-songwriter had penned, you could colour us impressed; yet it was only the second song written by the natural-born songstress who effortlessly has what it takes to leave the airwaves at her command.

Isn’t Love Strange will officially release on April 17; catch it on on all major platforms.

Review by Amelia Vandergast