Browsing Tag

Soul Pop

London pop luminary, Maria Manuel, sold ‘Sanctuary’ in her emotion-driven slice of soul

Posted on 11 July 2023

If Maria Manuel can still be considered a rising star, she’s already beyond our galaxy with her engrossingly progressive singles. The South London soulstress’ latest single, Sanctuary, digs deep into the evocative trenches to allude to how we are all the sole architects of our own refuges.

With harmonic crescendos which will allow your heart to catch in your throat, visceralism isn’t in short supply in the RnB-infused pop hit, which succeeds in keeping in line with the contemporary curve while borrowing a few synthy reverb-heavy tones from 80s pop icons.

Any fans of Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke will find themselves instantly enamoured with the arrestive propensities of the chord progressions in Sanctuary. It is safe to say Manuel created yet another radio-ready hit. Jump on it while the hype is hot and embrace one of the most promising pop acts of this era.

Stream Sanctuary on Spotify.

Follow Maria Manuel on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Misty Drinx went back to the golden era of pop via his debut space odyssey, Oh I Love That Song!

Posted on 3 July 2023

Knowing that there is no better feeling than falling head over ears for an infectiously funk-laden pop hit, the up-and-coming artist Misty Drinx brought about a brand-new era of electro-soul with the release of his debut single, Oh I Love That Song!

Going back to the golden era of pop via a space odyssey, the single sweeps you up in a nostalgic 80s atmosphere, constructed by the oscillating synth lines, polyphonic keys and swathes of reverb that aid the transcendent euphoria of Oh I Love That Song!

Lyrically, the single may pay an ode to the feeling of hearing a song and wishing you wrote it, but the sentiment will undoubtedly be the same from the moment you greet the melodious earworm. We’re already stoked to hear the sophomore hit from Drinx now he’s found his euphonic calling.

Check out the debut single from Misty Drinx on Spotify.

Keep up to date with future releases via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Skinny G Radio showed trauma the door in his euphoric indie-pop anthem, Pain, Go!

Posted on 9 June 2023

Fans of The Airborne Toxic Event, Sam Fender and Mark Ronson will want to grab themselves a slice of the latest single, Pain, Go! from the indietronic pop innovator, Skinny G Radio.

In contrast to the high-energy production, which rivals the euphonic records under the deft touch of Jon Bellion, the lyrical themes tread through the darker waters of our deeply personal relationships with trauma.

Anyone who has lived through it will know the fear of not being able to recognise themselves without it, as much as they want to show it the door for the final time. The Connecticut-born and raised songwriter, producer and performer, with his John Mayer-ESQUE songwriting chops, paid euphoric homage to that conflicting experience while orchestrating the ultimate indie pop earworm you can turn to time after time for the solace of the stabbing synth lines, soul-soaked vocal harmonies and layers of funk wrapping around the pop hooks to alchemise the perfect aural remedy for ennui.

Pain, Go! will be available to stream from June 9th. Hear it on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Marianna’s vocal lines leave us on the hook in her feat of alt-indie pop grandeur, Hold On

Posted on 26 May 2023

If it has been a while since you last checked in with your inner child, find the inspiration to reach out and reconnect my immersing yourself in the latest single from the arresting alt-indie pop chanteuse, Marianna. With class, conviction and introspection the triadic drivers within the tribally enlivening single, Hold On, ambivalence is not an option.

Towards the outro, the single moves away from indie pop panache and veers towards an ABBA-ESQUE world music crescendo; if you weren’t invested before that climactic build, you’ll feel your heart catch in your throat around her flawlessly pitched vocal lines.

It’s a rarity that we hear something truly pioneering and resounding in equal measure, but evidently, pedestrian performances aren’t Marianna Zappi’s forte. After performing in front of a crowd of two million, one of those just so happening to be Pope Benedict XVI, touring across Europe for the past two years and garnering attention from BBC Radio London, the future for Marianna will be as luminous as her talent.

Hold On will officially release on May 26. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Karice reached the pinnacle of sensuous intimacy in ‘Callin’ Your Name’

Posted on 24 May 2023

Taken from her eponymous sophomore EP, the up-and-coming soul singer Karice’s latest Afro Pop rendezvous, Callin’ Your Name, reaches the pinnacle of sensuous intimacy. Each of Karice’s singles is a visualisation of her life experiences, and Callin’ Your Name, in all of its elevated distinction, is no exception.

The voluptuously soft single runs through at a steady tempo, enabling the listener to savour each of the impassioned vocal notes as they create synergy with the sun-bleached instrumentals that made the single summer RnB pop playlist material.

After being introduced to the BeaconSkillz producer, Big Zo, in 2021, the collaborative alchemy soon spilled, resulting in her debut EP, Spirritated, in 2022. Between both releases, you will experience her soulful vocal dynamism and classy approach to orchestrating sonic feats of seduction.

The Karice EP hit the airwaves on May 11; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Forget Peterson; follow Ninali’s rules for life in her synthy soul pop meditation on mindfulness, Alive.

Posted on 22 May 2023

With her latest pop-dominated melting pot of genre and style, Alive, the singer-songwriter and co-producer Ninali celebrated life and gave her staunch fanbase a few lessons to live by. By eloquently alluding to the irrefutable truth that we all harness the power to choose what we expose ourselves to and ultimately, who we want to be, Ninali will undoubtedly guide countless people to the epiphany that the power to shape reality exists within us all.

The meditation on mindfulness is just as infectious as the hits from Black Honey, as poetic as the indie pop gems from She Drew the Gun, and effortlessly classy as April March. So it’s safe to say that the 18-year-old songstress is a triple threat that could easily find herself at the top of the charts if her songwriting chops remain as sharp as they were in Alive. Feel good tracks have never felt so damn good.

Ninali launched her latest single, Alive, on May 12; hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ninali reached the pinnacle of ‘Smooth’ in her latest feat of jazzy soul pop nostalgia

Posted on 17 February 2023
Ninali

There was no forgetting Ninali after hearing her affectionately wanderlust track, Tokyo, which hit the airwaves at the end of 2022. To start 2023 with a sultry bang, she’s amalgamated a sentimentally demure cocktail of pop, jazz and RnB.

The mid-tempo piece, Smooth, was co-produced by the legendary producer M. Shanks, who also applied their deft touch to the tantalising timbres in Tokyo, which marked the first release for Ninali in over a decade.

With Smooth, sensuously 80s-nostalgia-soaked instrumentals swell and tropically groove around the aphoristically harmonised vocal lines, which simultaneously put you in the mood while facilitating the purer purpose of reminding you how sweet it is to meet someone that defines serendipity. It is worth falling in love just to fully appreciate this delicious track.

Smooth will officially release on February 17th. Hear it on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Chris Spruit is star-roving in her spacey blues pop single, LifeSway

Posted on 2 February 2023

Bowie and David Lynch never came together when the sonic star man was of this earth; if they did, their combined artistic alchemy would have undoubtedly had the same disarming appeal as Chris Spruit’s latest single, LifeSway.

With the singer-songwriter sharing the same timelessly spiritual timbre as Stevie Nicks, there was no better pairing for the instrumentals, which pull together as a sonorously virtuosic amalgam of blues, jazz, pop, and soul.

When Chris Spruit isn’t orchestrating her solo singles, she’s pouring soul into the blues rock band Blue Attitude. If LifeSway has given you an insatiable need for more sonic beguile, you will be gratified to hear it is the first of eight tracks from her forthcoming album, Trip to Mars, due for release in February 2023.

LifeSway was officially released on January 29th. Hear it on Spotify. Check out Chris Spruit via her official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Umberto Bravo pulled the purity out of salaciousness with his sophomore synth-pop single, Sacred Sinner

Posted on 15 January 2023

Italian independent singer-songwriter and composer Umberto Bravo has unleashed his synthy sophomore single, Sacred Sinner, which modernises the 80s pop tonal palette with explorative vision and lavish layers of soul.

The mid-tempo ballad embellishes the 80s pop sound with gospel traditionalism through the vocals as the instrumentals push lush synth cords against consistently evolving guitars, which know just where to transfuse the gritty and transcendent tones to make the peaks and valleys of the emotional rollercoaster infinitely steeper.

Some view lust as a cardinal sin, but if anyone can make the case for the purity of salaciousness, it is Umberto Bravo in this carnally magnetic earworm that could rouse even the most sexually repressed puritans.

“Sacred Sinner is not a love song, let alone musical pornography. But it certainly goes against the traditional dynamic of the relationships of equality that exist between two people dealing with intimacy.”

Sacred Sinner was released on January 14th across all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lyfe created a disco fever endemic with the euphoric soul in his latest funk-pop single, Tonight

Posted on 16 December 2022
Lyfe

For his latest single, Tonight, the up-and-coming artist, Lyfe, served a potent cocktail of pop, funk, disco, and soul. Rather than evoking nostalgia from one era, the artist, who is dominating more and more of the metaverse with every subsequent release, simultaneously took us to the 60s, 70s and 80s in a dizzying feat of sonic time travel.

While you time-hop through the funk-chopped guitars, glistening piano glissandos and heady four-to-the-floor beat, Lyfe creates collaborative alchemy with the celestially timbered backing vocalists who pour a profound level of euphoric soul into the feverish with disco track.

Each song from Lyfe’s 20-track debut album has its own virtual world in the Metaverse. Before the debut LP, Lyfe founded YXY ODY Studios to create a series of NFT drops and The Odyssey Metaverse. He also deployed one of the biggest virtual concerts yet, with over 40,000 attendees.

Watch this space because Lyfe is about to revolutionise it.

Tonight will officially release on December 16th. Check it out on his official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast