Browsing Tag

Ambient RnB

IVPLLAY DHE GUARDIAAN – SHANG TSUNG: Sensually Spiritual RnB Hip Hop

Posted on 1 April 2021
https://soundcloud.com/ivpllaydheg-d/shang-tsung-ivpllay-dhe-guardiaan-prod-by-ivpllay-2timez

With IVPLLAY DHE GUARDIAAN’s latest single, ‘SHANG TSUNG’, spiritually and sensuality come rhythmically entwined. It’s practically a tantric experience in itself.

The slow, seductive, reverb-drenched notes, produced by IVPLLAY & 2TIMEZ, flow beneath the RnB-style vocals that croon through lyrics that are carnal enough to make Marvin Gaye sound asexual. Yet, the amount of soul in this release parallels the salacity, making SHANG TSUNG a refreshing antithesis to the hypersexual objectification which makes up a significant chunk of hip hop lyrics.

SHANG TSUNG is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jiwhan Kim drops some ephemeral ambiance with ‘Suicidal Starlight’

Posted on 8 February 2021

Opening with some seriously emotive koto-like strings before the beautiful female vocal kicks in, backed by some ephemeral sounds and those haunting picked string notes, ‘Suicidal Starlight’ is the opening track from Indiana-based producer-singer-songwriter Jiwhan Kim’s new EP ‘World’.

Trancey, Ambient, and otherworldly, ‘Suicidal Starlight’ is a beautiful track, spacy and relaxing yet uplifting and hopeful all at once. Kim aims to become a world-class producer and composer, and on the basis of ‘Suicidal Starlight’, and the rest of ‘World’, he’s on exactly the right trajectory.

You can hear ‘Suicidal Starlight’, and the rest of the ‘World’ EP, on Spotify. Check out Jiwhan Kim on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Samtrackz pours straight from the soul with their smooth blend of RnB and Hip Hop in ‘Coffee’

Posted on 1 February 2021

A good grind is just as important in RnB Hip Hop as it is with coffee, as Samtrackz proves with their indulgent parable of a single ‘Coffee’.

The smooth blend of elements in the atmospherically layered single invigorates instead of allowing you to feel over-faced as you sit back and take in the aromatic notes, deep grooves and sonorous soul.

Discernibly, Samtrackz has taken coffee shop music to the next level. With the imagery they’re able to conjure in their sweetly sensual sound, you’ll find yourself thrown back to every cute coffee morning which you have burned in your memory when you hit play on Coffee.

You can check out Samtrackz’s latest single by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

SENTO – Lay Back featuring TATONKA: The Soul Driven Ambient Hit That Will Keep Your Synapses Firing

Posted on 1 December 2020

Swiss-Norwegian artist and producer SENTO’s latest soul-instilled Alt Electronica single ‘Lay Back’ featuring TATONKA is a sublimely idyllic feat of aural ingenuity. With enough ambience within the mix to offer you a sense of catharsis and plenty of digitally-orchestrated Funk to keep your synapses firing, Lay Back easily transcends the notion of genre and becomes somewhat of a paradox. It’s a grooving dreamy slow burner and a bass-riding groove-riddled entrancing hit, all in one deftly produced package.

With SENTO’s tendency to weave everything from Funk to Hip Hop to Neo Soul into his tracks, it’s always worth delving into their eclectically inspired sound, and thankfully, there is plenty more in the pipeline.

You can check out SENTO’s latest single via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cedriss – Beautiful Queen: Sultrily Flavoured RnB-Inspired Pop

Posted on 16 November 2020

Possibly the most keenly-awaited and anticipated album of Haitian-born singer-songwriter Cedriss’ career, ‘Golden Child’ drops in late November. Following on from the hit lead single ‘Woah’ comes ‘Beautiful Queen’, a deliciously sexy and sultry chilled helping of R&B-inspired pop that’s a perfect flavour of the album.

A mix of Hip Hop, Reggae, and R&B, and taking in Cedriss’ influences such as Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson, ‘Beautiful Queen’ is a gorgeously chilled, expressive love song. The sing-song vocal sitting atop a backing track laced with almost calypso strings, mellow jazzy bass, and snappy snare beats. ‘Golden Child’ is Cedriss’ first full album; ‘Beautiful Queen’ is the stunning, perfect taster.

Find out more about the artist at https://cedrissmusic.info or follow on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Trak Doe serves up transcendently smooth grooves with “Guitar Smooth”

Posted on 30 August 2020
https://youtu.be/ukKUuSIWvU8

If it has been a while since a soundscape has left you rhythmically entranced, you’ll definitely want to delve into the transcendent textures offered by up and coming artist Trak Doe’s recently released single Guitar Smooth.

Guitar Smooth finds the perfect balance between ambience and vivaciousness. The vibrance of the notes charge up the energy while the tenderly meandering notes lead you to relaxation. With the crystal clear iridescence, it’s hard not to succumb to the serenity in the instrumental Latin RnB track.

You can check out Trak Doe’s single for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

K. Rose – Nothing: Strikingly Soulful Ambient Neo-Soul RnB

Posted on 27 July 2020
https://soundcloud.com/user-555645404/nothing

Breaking RnB singer-songwriter K. Rose has released their most strikingly soulful single yet with “Nothing”. It may be laced with romantic lament, but it’s anything but your average lovelorn single.

The stylistically ambient beats which were crafted by Zane98 set the perfect tone for K. Rose’s soft, smooth and harmonically flawless vocals which run through the candidly relatable lyrics.

While not all breakups are the same, a running theme between them is the sense of worthlessness which can lead you to believe that there’s nothing left. K. Rose resonantly captures that emotion, if you’re capable of empathy, expect this track to hit hard. It may be tonally warm and inviting, but the level of emotion which was projected through the lyrics is haunting.

You can check out K. Rose’s latest single for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

In the wake of George Floyd’s Death, RnB Soul artist Brent Williams asks the devastating question of “What If It Was Me” in their latest single

Posted on 24 July 2020
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/what-if-it-was-me/1522186448?i=1522186449

RnB Soul artist Brent Williams’ latest single “What If It Was Me” asks a sobering question which has been on the minds of black people for generations. Not just after George Floyd’s murder.

While I’ve heard innumerable justified aggressive attacks on systematic racial oppression lately, Brent Williams took a more soulful approach to point out the devastating reality for every black person living in fear.

Hopefully, their release can help the narrowminded realise the utter absurdity in racial prejudice. On the flip side, I can only imagine how many people fighting the same battle as Brent Williams will find invaluable resonance in this single. It may be a downtempo ambient RnB hit, but that doesn’t prevent What If It Was Me from hitting excruciatingly hard.

You can check out What If It Was Me which dropped on July 10th by heading over to Apple Music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dream Pop Meets Neo-Soul in DaveJavu’s Blissfully Transcendent Debut Single “Summer Sun”

Posted on 19 June 2020
https://soundcloud.com/davejavumusic/summer-sun/s-lbAgZ

Dream Pop meets Neo-Soul in up and coming artist DaveJavu’s debut single Summer Sun. The sun-kissed oceanic single oozes authenticity and good vibes in equal measure. Not only do you get a taste of the Copenhagen-based artist’s creative ingenuity, but you also get to immerse yourself in hypnotically transcendent waves of gentle euphoria.

The track was inspired by the feelings of happiness when something goes right in the world. Even if you haven’t felt that way in a while, Summer Sun invites you to feel those very same warm fuzzy feelings.

Expect a Mike Patton level of aural invention from Summer Sun. I never thought I’d see the day where I’d get to say that about the debut single from an up and coming artist. Naturally, we’re all too stoked to hear that Summer Sun is just the first track to drop from DaveJavu’s upcoming album Beach Groove Odyssey.

You can check out Summer Sun for yourselves from June 19th via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Indie and RnB Soul Alchemically Combine in Alvin’s Immersively Raw Single “Sentient”

Posted on 15 May 2020

Manchester has another reason to feel smug about their repertoire of musicians after RnB Soul artist Alvin released their latest EP Seven Oaks on May 1st.

Each of the tracks offers unfiltered candid lyrical poetry alongside absorbingly authentic beats, but the best introduction to Alvin’s succinct stylistic sound is undoubtedly Sentient.

By allowing the same haunting guitar tones as you’d expect to find in a Chameleons track to create the perfect platform for their equally as ethereal vocals, Sentient offers plenty of pensively immersive alchemy. But just because Alvin let his soul candidly spill out into the mix, that doesn’t mean that the track is without its soulful catharsis. Warming to new artists may not be easy, but it’s never been easier for fans of Alt Indie RnB.

You can check out Sentient along with the rest of Alvin’s latest EP for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast