Browsing Tag

Alt RnB

Holly Riva is as stormy as a tsunami in her latest alt-soul single, Drowning.

Posted on 16 October 2023

The hypnotic harmonic effect on her ethereal vocal lines over the crashing waves in the intro was a mesmerising way for Holly Riva to kick off her latest lyrically dark, texturally luminous single, Drowning.

With moody electronica motifs sending shockwaves of reverberance through the stormy as a tsunami release, the horn stabs harbingering doom and the metaphors alluding to the relatable phenomena of losing your power under the weight of toxicity, the Australian singer-songwriter succeeded in visualising universal emotions, which typically leave us out of our depth when we have chased an idea instead of a person.

Artistically and technically, it is a phenomenal release from the evocative enchantress who has already racked up 250,000 streams on Spotify alone since she made her debut with the EP, A Memory. Now that she’s shown a more vulnerable side to her creativity, we can’t wait to hear more of it rush to the surface.

Drowning was officially released on September 29; stream it on Spotify.

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

Jenn DeSantis made waves in her latest alt-RnB single, splish splash

Posted on 29 August 2023

Jenn DeSantis is quickly becoming a name the music industry cannot ignore; her ability to shift boundaries and move her unique sonic edge into unchartered territory has established the self-produced pop singer-songwriter and keyboardist as one to watch as she works her way up the Billboard charts.

Her latest single, splish splash, is the perfect introduction to her consistently melody-centric genre-melding style. While some artists only succeed in being original, DeSantis allows each of her exuberantly bold hits to unravel as a creatively exhilarating feat of ingenuity.

By constructing her latest track with elements of leftfield electronica, pop, hip-hop and RnB and allowing her dominantly demure vocal lines to become a source of gravity in the experimentalism, you’ll be pushed headfirst into a scintillatingly unfamiliar aural universe, guided by the soul emanating from the fiery vocals.

In this year alone, the independent emerging artist sang the National Anthem for Monster Jam, performed at Pittsburgh Pride, and is set to perform at the Chicago West Loop Art Fest. Get her on your radar before she’s too big for it.

splish splash rippled onto the airwaves on August 18th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rya welcomed in a dreamy new era of electro-soul with his latest single, SHOW OFF.

Posted on 25 August 2023

With his latest single, SHOW OFF., the trailblazing emissary of soul, Rya, wrapped the roots of RnB around modernist electronic dream pop tones and created a solid backbeat by infusing the track with rhythmically tight hip-hop nuances.

Rather than attempting to be everybody’s cup of tea, the London-based electro-soul singer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer chose to take the visionary path to explore his experimental sound and create escapist worlds that you won’t need inviting to twice.

The emotion implanted into his singles may be raw, but by staying true to his distinctive production style, which melds jazz, R&B, and neo-soul tendencies, he always delivers ear candy sweet enough to give you a sugar rush.

SHOW OFF. Will hit the airwaves on the 25th of August. Hear it on SoundCloud first.

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

Bomb Voyage has debuted his compassionately choral RnB dream pop serenade, Serenity

Posted on 20 July 2023

With melodically intricate indie guitars and synths that wouldn’t be out of place in a Cigarettes After Sex single, Bomb Voyage created a hazily dreamy atmosphere for his classic RnB vocals to soak into in his latest single, Serenity.

Hedonistic and self-destructive behaviour may have been normalised to the point it has been glamorised in contemporary culture; instead of contributing to the acceptability of the toxicity of the trend, Bomb Voyage orchestrated a moody yet compassionate ballad to pay an ode to a female protagonist who has a proclivity towards excess.

Rather than painting a monster, Bomb Voyage used their lyrical empathy and beckoningly magnetic vocal lines to create a consoling release for anyone who needs the affirmation that even the most wayward souls deserve to be seen beyond their lifestyles.

Serenity is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Spotlight Feature: OTH€LLO introduced the future of Afro Fusion with his debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ

Posted on 17 July 2023

The Montreal-born, Harlem-based Afrobeat innovator OTH€LLO took gospel out of church and implanted it firmly in his ethereal dream of an Afrobeat RnB debut single, SZA 4 NGAZ.

Fittingly, after his music journey began by being introduced to Congolese gospel and secular soukous tunes by his Congolese immigrant parents, the sensuous single, which celebrates staying true to your roots while practising radical acceptance, finds plenty of room for religious imagery and tonality.

After a sensuously ambient RnB intro complete with saturated in warm delay indie guitars, SZA 4 NGAZ starts to tease hip-hop elements with the fiery canter of his verses before winding it all back down in the dynamically versatile hit that reached the pinnacle of Afro-Fusionist authenticity.

SZA 4 NGAZ is a sublimely promising start to OTH€LLO’s career. His carresively pure vocal lines paired with his down-to-earth lyrical style are enough to kickstart a new revolution in soul.

In the words of OTH€LLO:

“This song is an exploration of how growing my dreads again after cutting my first set was like falling again. It sonically narrates the process of self-love and self-acceptance through a fiercely Afrocentric and sexual perspective.”

After releasing SZA 4 NGAZ, OTH€LLO is back in the studio orchestrating his debut EP. If the forthcoming material is as arcane as his debut, you’ll want to save plenty of room on your radar.

SZA 4 NGAZ was officially released on the 1st of July; hear it on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Get into the soulful hip-hop groove with the collaborative alchemy that spilt between Giuseppe Grondona, Lisabel & Nikola Kovacevic in ‘Mar My Mind’.

Posted on 22 June 2023

Giuseppe Grondona, Lisabel, and Nikola Kovacevic got into the urban groove with their collaborative RnB rendezvous, Mar My Mind, which is due for official release on June 22nd.

With the tantalising time signatures in the backbeat, the jazzy-with-soul melodious layers which allow the soundscape to gel with gravitas, and the affectionately easeful flow of the vocal harmonies, Mar My Mind is all too efficacious in its ability to leave an imprint on your sentimental senses.

Finding the perfect middle ground between syncopated innovation and 90s RnB nostalgia, the triad of luminary artists created the ultimate proclamation of resilience. Written within the lush layers of soul is the testament that, no matter what life throws at you, getting bitter is never the only inevitability.

Stream Mar My Mind via Soundcloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Deandre Sevon reached the pinnacle of sensuality with his innovative take on RnB in Does That Feel Good

Posted on 19 June 2023

It was about time a new wave of RnB crashed in; it came as a courtesy of the diaphanously artful debut single, Does That Feel Good, from the luminary Miami-based singer-songwriter and producer, Deandre Sevon, who honed his silkily honeyed vocal lines on Broadway.

With experimental electronica motifs that wouldn’t be out of place in an ELO record weaved into the ambiently exhilarant single that features sensuously reverb-swathed synths and vox that put the soul in romantic uncertainty, Sevon became one of the promising conduits of soul in 2023.

Around the delicate keys and lush synths are moody tones which reflect the weight of what is at stake in the sweetest ‘win you back’ record, allowing Does That Feel Good to resonate as an emotionally matured and well-rounded masterpiece of vulnerability.

Deandre Sevon clearly has a bright career ahead of him. We can’t wait to hear what is lingering in the pipeline from the artist who has exactly what it takes to smash through the monotonous mould many RnB artists are too afraid to break through and sonically step into their own.

Does That Feel Good was officially released on June 9th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Juan Tavano chased the ghosts of ephemeral connection in his alt-RnB single, Passing By

Posted on 19 June 2023

If you’re like a moth to the flames of quick-burning romances which scarcely give you time to become more than ideas in each other’s mind, you will find and lose yourself in the latest single, Passing By, from Juan Tavano.

While the lyrics lament our affinity for the ephemeral affection we chase and yearn for in an act of sadistic romanticism, the indie RnB instrumentals shimmer through the swathes of saturated delay around the pseudo-trap backbeat while Tavano vocally brings in nuances of afro-pop with his honeyed to the nines harmonies.

From start to finish, Passing By stands as a testament to Tavano’s ability to stir souls with his evolving melodies, create immersively conceptual atmospheres and break the monocultural mould with his ingenuity. If that doesn’t constitute a triple threat, I’m not entirely sure what does.

Passing By will hit the airwaves on June 19; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast