Browsing Tag

soul

The Emissary of Impassioned Nostalgia, Donnell Isaac Has Come Through with His Latest RnB Single, Through Love

Posted on 13 September 2023

If your 80s & 90s RnB playlists need a fresh kick of soul, the latest single, Through Love, from the emissary of impassioned nostalgia, Donnell Isaac, will deliver a potent shot of sweet sensuality.

The Portsmouth, Virginia-hailing singer-songwriter and composer allowed RnB fans to delve far deeper than Frank Ocean hits with the staunchly traditionalist track that reaches the epitome of cinematic soul.

Through Love, which explores the all-consuming gratitude love evokes, pays an ode to the celestial capacity of true love; in an era of superficial connection, the single is a testament to the rewards for romantic vulnerability. Between his Gospel-grown vocal lines and the arresting electric guitar solo towards the outro, Through Love efficaciously leaves the senses alight.

Through Love dropped on September 8th; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Self-reflection transcended passion in FATEFROMMARS’ experimental RnB single, I DO CARE

Posted on 9 September 2023

The up-and-coming NYC-residing artist FATEFROMMARS averted all the cliché RnB tropes in the standout single, I DO CARE, taken from her debut album, HIATUS, by prioritising self-compassion over passion and favouring self-care over seduction.

I DO CARE invites you to gaze into the intimacy of the singer-songwriter’s candour-fuelled introspection by providing an exposition into how powerful it is to focus on your growth instead of depending on ephemeral love stories to fill the void and become your sole narrative.

With a kicking beat and sultry smooth indie RnB instrumentals that break into reverb-drenched soul rock riffs mellifluously flowing beneath her velveteen vocal lines, I DO CARE is the perfect track to kick back to and remind yourself that avoidance is sometimes a necessary detour on your path to healing.

By giving her experimentalism ample earworm appeal and never shying away from versing on the negatives to inspire authentic growth, FATEFROMMARS became the most seminal new RnB artist of 2023. If I could entrust one artist with the future of the genre, I wouldn’t think twice about handing the evolution over to her.

The debut LP dropped on August 31; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyra unleashed Medusa in their latest funk-pop-RnB alchemic amalgam.

Posted on 1 September 2023

With powerfully alluring vocals slipping into an amalgam of funk, pop and 90s RnB, the latest single, Medusa, from the London-hailing prodigal children of soulful experimentalism, Lyra, is a boundary-breaking triumph.

With vocal lines that are as resonant and sonorous as the timbres you would expect from Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus and intellectually enlivening lyricism bolstering the track that is rich with lush reverb, disco grooves, and rhythmic alchemy, Medusa is a track that could easily help Lyra make an even bigger mark on the RnB map. I mean, have you ever heard a stronger opening lyrical line than “I slept with my demons, they never called me back”?

Since forming in 2016, the outfit has brought its live sound to many of the most prestigious venues, including The Bedford, The Camden Assembly, and 99 Feet East; they have also received the Track of the Week accolade from BBC Introducing. We’re sure that even greater things await after Medusa is unleashed.

Medusa will be available to stream from the 1st of September; hear it via this link. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ericalisa created a vignette of pure passion for her latest single, For the Moment

Posted on 30 August 2023

The San Francisco Bay Area got even hotter when the DZN Records-signed RnB trailblazer, Ericalisa, dropped her sensuously stylised single, For the Moment.

Since 2015, Ericalisa has been creating a new trajectory in the evolution of soul; instead of reinventing the wheel, she found new ways to elevate the genre by caressing her downtempo melodies with her honeyed harmonies and adding moody elements to her mixes to accentuate her distinctive sonic signature.

Before stepping into a studio, the independent artist used poetry as a creative outlet, which more than shows in her lyricism; the verses flow just as smoothly as the lush reverb-soaked instrumentals around the imagery she conjures to captivate you in her vignettes of pure passion.

Stream the official music video for Ericalisa’s latest single, which premiered on August 18th via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

BEX made a divine debut with her soulfully meditative single, COME THRU

Posted on 28 August 2023
https://youtu.be/r-kgMelRc7U https://linktr.ee/bexfye

BEX (AKA Rebecca Lynn Giralde) started a new meditative revolution in soul with her debut single, COME THRU. Beyond the soulfully honeyed and beckoning vocal lines that tempt an amorous spark to ignite lingers her spiritual sense of self, which also manifests in her work as a yoga and reiki practitioner.

There’s a seductive sense of ease that drifts through every facet of the ambiently electrifying soundscape that reaches the pinnacle of sensuous for its warm tones and supple textures. If it has been a while since you had your soul melodically stirred, don’t hesitate to hit play on the cathartically strong debut.

When the Coral Springs-born, Brooklyn-raised American Afro-Latina singer isn’t in the studio, she’s radiating the same beauty that brings her music to visceral life as a professional model. She’s featured in worldwide beauty campaigns for major brands, including Clinique, and has been the face of a multitude of ad campaigns. Whatever she decides to turn her talents to next, it’s going to be literally or figuratively picture-perfect.

The official music video for BEX’s single, COME THRU, premiered on August 18th; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

DANIELA revealed her celestial sun-soaked triumph of an electro-swing RnB sophomore single, Che si può fare

Posted on 26 August 2023

After vocal training in Milan with the legendary soprano Annamaria Calciolari and performing in jazz line-ups in the Emirates, the independent singer-songwriter DANIELA graced the UK shores with her talent by moving to London, where she obtained a Masters degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

With her debut EP in the pipeline, we checked out her RnB sophomore single, Che si può fare and was instantly infatuated by her perceptible deep connection to music, which doesn’t just border on spiritual if the celestial beguile in her melodies is anything to go by.

The vibrant piece of elegant and elevated world music is a rhythmic triumph that shares the warmth of a Sicilian sun-soaked veranda through the instrumental arrangement, which allows the timbre of a finger-picked guitar to take the lead as it effortlessly compliments the harmonies in her beguiling bilingual vocal lines.

Stream Che si può fare on Spotify.

 

Follow DANIELA on Instagram and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sterlen Roberts called ‘Time On It’ in his latest single, ft Kaii & JawnwitGreenhair

Posted on 24 August 2023

For his latest RnB rendezvous, Time On It, the prodigy of soul, Sterlen Roberts, co-collaborated with the luminaries in their own right, Kaii & JawnwitGreenhair, to produce the Afrobeat-flavoured hit of the summer.

With the rhythmic euphoria of dancehall paired with the pop-hooked RnB vocal lines and the slick-with-fire rap bars, Time On It is a dynamically soul-reviving release that may just spur you into turning your casual hook-ups into something far more meaningful.

The airwaves may be proliferated with hits that romanticise superficial connections and the even more vapid games we play in pursuit of cheap thrills, but as Sterlen efficaciously proved, there’s nothing like the real thing; lock it down.

Time On It will officially release on the 24th of August; stream it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The San Diego Emissary of Soul, Sedríque, Held No Prisoners in His RnB Pop Hit, Sick Of

Posted on 22 August 2023

Taken from his ingeniously titled debut LP, Seduction, the standout single, Sick Of, which has racked up 50k streams on Spotify to date, is the perfect introduction to Sedríque’s fiery brand of contemporary RnB pop.

Sick Of captures the raw, messy, and visceral emotions that follow a toxic relationship and an even more toxic breakup. Some songwriters write what they think their audiences want to hear, and others stay committed to melodising harsh truths, Sedríque well and truly put himself in the latter camp with the soulful vitriol in Sick Of, which will be a hit with any fans of Chris Brown and the Weeknd. The razor-sharp rhythmics of the lyrical blows against the steady tempo of the soul-heady instrumentals created intoxicating aural alchemy that you will want to intoxicate yourself with time and time again.

After finding his voice at the age of three when he started to perform solos in the church choir and learning how to accompany himself on piano by the age of ten, the singer-songwriter’s teeth were well and truly cut by the time he focused on creating one of the most seminal RnB pop records of 2023.

Check out the Radio Edit of Sick Of by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nawniee reached the epitome of eloquence with her alt-soul hit, Words

Posted on 18 August 2023

When words aren’t enough, melodies fill in the gaps of expression, especially when they’re as ambiently arresting as the grooves that flow right through the latest alt-RnB single, Words, from the up-and-coming artist, Nawniee.

The slick with synthesised 80s nostalgia prelude arrests you from the first note before the downtempo flows start to act as a bedrock for Nawniee’s soaring vocal lines that share proclivities with hyper-pop icons through inventive the use of autotune.

It was a bold move to augment her glassy vocal lines to the nth degree, but it more than paid off; Words became all the more visceral for it as the singer and songwriter reached the epitome of eloquence with her lyricism. You’d be seriously hard-pressed to find a more convincing declaration of passion on the airwaves.

Check out the Radio Edit of Words by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Essilfie took gospel out of the church with her lush trap hit, Prayed Up

Posted on 13 August 2023

Since making her debut, the Ghanaian soul and R&B singer-songwriter, Essilfie, has established herself as one of the most dynamic artists in the game. With no genre off the table, anticipating her next move is impossible, but it is always effortless to get in the groove of her latest releases; take her latest trap and hip-hop-infused hit, Prayed Up as the perfect example.

The gritty conviction in her spoken-word rap bars is only matched by the lush sultry appeal of the reverb that spills from the instrumentals in the single that breaks the monocultural could for starters and obliterates genre and geographical boundaries for a triadic triumphant exhibition of authenticity.

As luxe as a Jay Z hip-hop production, as soulful as a Sade single, and as introspective as, well, she set her own bar here, the single that speaks through an alter-ego to traverse themes of resilience and faith is one to meditate on.

Check out Prayed Up on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast