Browsing Tag

Alicia Keys

Shayla Hernandez transfused 90s RnB into Modern Soul with ‘Where Have You Been’

Posted on 17 May 2024
Shayla Hernandez

From the age she could speak, Shayla Hernandez wanted to sing and wasted no time honing her performance abilities; by age 13, she had already graced a recording studio and recorded her debut EP before performing throughout the Tri-State area, opening for the legendary likes of Rakim and Tito Nieves.

Fast forward to 2024, the singer-songwriter’s work resounds as though she’s got no teeth left to cut in the music industry, evidenced by the soul-rich gravitas in her latest single, Where Have You Been.

The eclectic fusion of RnB, Latin, Funk and Modern Soul allows Hernandez to wear her heart on one sleeve and her influences on another, ensuring that when you get lost in the dreamy haze of her emotion-driven vignette of a soul’s intoxication on passion, you’ll feel the comfort of familiarity, in the vein of Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys, while being swept up by her authenticity which aches with warm sincerity. She’s beyond at the top of her game, Shayla Hernandez is riding high as one of the most superlative figures in the genre.

Where Have You Been will hit all major streaming platforms on May 17th via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jules Marie has released her relatable indie pop track ‘Bulletproof’

Posted on 14 June 2021

Philly-hailing singer-songwriter Jules Marie has garnered plenty of hype since releasing her debut single in 2020. After the release of her latest single, Bulletproof, it is hard to see how anything could get in the way of her trajectory to the top. Her accessible girl next door vibes mixed with her infectiously empowered attitude in Bulletproof was discernibly a recipe for success. Not only is she an artist that you can be in awe of, but she is also an artist that you can relate to.

Instrumentally, Bulletproof is a smooth and stylish feat of indie pop, while Jules Marie pulls nuances of RnB into the mix in true 90s and 00s pop style. Any fans of Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson and Natasha Bedingfield will definitely want to pay attention to the artist that has already racked up 100k streams on Spotify alone.

Bulletproof is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Magi Merlin Has Released Her Latest Entrancingly Fluid Neo-Soul RnB Track “So Smooth” featuring Funkywhat

Posted on 12 April 2020

Breaking RnB Neo-Soul artist Magi Merlin has dropped her most entrancingly fluid tack to date with “So Smooth” in collaboration with Funkywhat.

So Smooth gives the evolution of Neo-Soul a brand new trajectory. Between the downtempo grooves in the track, you’ll find a potent serving of soul which could rival soul-steeped tracks by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, and Macy Grey. Yet, there’s nothing archaic about the soundscape itself. A few warm jazzy nostalgic tones may bleed through the electronically produced RnB Hip Hop beats, yet Magi Merlin’s contemporary fresh style ensures that So Smooth comes with massive commercial appeal.

You can check out Magi Merlin’s single So Smooth for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Barbara Kiss Releases Cinematic Video For Her New Track “Runaway”

Posted on 1 November 2017

Barbara Kiss is a hard working singer songwriter from Hungary with a raw and natural voice that is capable of expressing a myriad of emotions through a delicate tone that projects her strength and vision. With her brand new video for the song “Runaway” she truly has created something beautiful which is able to capture an audience and immerse them in a cinematic experience all while showcasing her skills in music.

Apart from Barbara Kiss’ natural voice with a gentle vibrato that colours her vocal tone uniquely, and a stunning video to accompany the music, it is evident that this song is very nicely polished and ready for a great success. This young lady’s strong sense of natural style and fashion not only resonates through the video but also through the music itself. With piano and swelling string sounds together with a gentle chorus section in combination with a strong melody “Runaway” is one of those songs which will remain stuck in your head for a long time. It is evident that this girl truly has something special to offer and her voice brings out a unique natural beauty in music that can rarely be found.

-Sarah Marie Bugeja

Danelle’s “Broken” Is A Risky Production, But The Payoff Is Worth It

Posted on 26 October 2017

Have you ever found it odd that so many songs about feeling damaged or distraught are put together in a way that seems to convey the opposite. Major keys and crystal-clear production doesn’t exactly scream trouble. Artists, particularly singers, tend to find juxtaposing contrasting emotions to be a way of creating something unique, but when a singer has a tone in mind and can also find the perfect backdrop to amplify that feeling, we get something more powerful. Broken by Danelle is a song that builds incredibly well using slightly off-kilter elements to its advantage.

From the opening, the slightly transduced vocals have a quality about them that’s hard to pin down. They seem somewhat lo-fi in how they’re recorded, but they’re much more ambitious in their performance than what a lo-fi artist would be comfortable with. Between humanly off-beat claps and progressively more layered vocals, we get to enjoy a frightening and dynamic mix that evolves over time into something much grander than the original parts led on. In this way, the key to the song is sticking to the theme without sacrificing quality. Broken is a risky production altogether, but the payoff is well worth it.

-Paul Weyer

A&R Factory Present: Elsie And The Vibe

Posted on 29 October 2016

Independent Australian soul singer-songwriter Elsie has released explosive debut single Riverside with her band Elsie and The Vibe. Elsie’s smooth and smoky vocals command each note with a deep, raw emotional vulnerability, and her honest lyrics connect directly with the listener to create a cell-tingling, two-way exchange.

Elsie is a Melbourne-raised Brooklyn-based artist whose music resides at the intersection of soul, Motown, R&B and pop. Her explosive tracks sit somewhere on the spectrum of Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone and Alicia Keys and have been touted as “some of the most exciting new music to come out of Melbourne’s booming soul scene”.

2016 will see the long awaited release of Elsie’s debut EP with her band, Elsie and The Vibe. The independent EP was produced by Robert Upward (emaar, Shelly Segal) and Jonathan Dreyfus (Gretta Ray, Lama), and features a number of talented and accomplished musicians known as The Vibe. Lined with modern references to vintage sounds, the 5-track EP is refreshing yet uniquely familiar, strong on horn and string lines but rooted in an inescapable groove. Elsie’s smooth and smoky vocals command each note with a deep, raw emotional vulnerability, and her honest lyrics connect directly with the listener to create a cell-tingling, two-way exchange.

Elsie is passionate about social change, empowerment, the expansion of thought and that an inherent positivity exists in all people. These beliefs serve as the foundation for her music as well as her online blog, Higher Vibration, which focuses on people who are expanding our collective social conscience (i.e. anybody and everybody!). She believes that art is a platform to promote social good and hopes to be a part of the change through her work. Elsie and The Vibe is a collection of 60s throwbacks, gospel inspired refrains and soulful ballads and will be available on November 22 2016. Get ready for some serious vibe.