Rhiza's Selection for Spafax Global IFE Services (Feb 2022)

LP: Rise Indigo

Neo Soul, Jazz, RnB, Urban

Yakul are James Berkeley (vocals and keys), Tom Caldwell-Nichols (bass), Sam Hughes (drums) and Leo Utton (guitar). Based out of Brighton and part of the UK's resurgent jazz and soul movement, the band marry introspective lyrics with deep grooves and jazz infused progressions, blending a range of styles into a sound they call “Future Soul”. Yakul's debut EP “Getting Late” was released in August 2019 with support from UK tastemakers including Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music), Jamz Supernova (BBC 1Xtra), Jazz FM and KCRW in LA. Their track “Blossoming” was voted #6 Track of the Year at the prestigious Worldwide Awards 2019 curated by Gilles Peterson, and the band were nominated for Best Jazz Act of the Year at the Urban Music Awards 2020. Yakul have collaborated on recent singles with UK rapper Che Lingo ("Cross My Line"), LA R&B artist Mereba (“Company") and US producer Sam Barsh, who is best known for his work with award winning artists Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak. Check out Yakul's set for Sofar Sounds London here More

LP - Out The Neighbourhood

Indie Rock, Indie Pop

Nottingham four-piece Blondes first single, Coming Of Age, released in 2020, quickly became a hit for the band, with its prophetic chorus (“Here, something really could happen”), being insanely catchy and radio friendly. It subsequently went viral on TikTok as thousands of videos featuring the song appeared across the platform, racking up millions of views. In response, TikTok launched an official Coming of Age trend on behalf of the band, resulting in millions of streams of the song as record labels across the world began to take notice too. Following this initial success, the band signed with C3 Records, which was established in 2018 by Charlie Walker and Charles Attal, co-founders of C3 Management and C3 Presents, one of the world’s largest festival producers. Four singles have followed, alongside festival appearances at Reading and Leeds, Dot to Dot, Liverpool Sound City and Live at Leeds, and support shows with Stereophonics and Inhaler. Their next single from the EP, "Out The Neighbourhood" was produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Oscar Lang, Vistas) and shortly followed by the rest of the EP. Skilful songwriting and taut instrumentals make “Out The Neighbourhood” a noteworthy debut. Recommended. Check the official video for Coming Of Age here... More

EP: Circuits EP

Dance, Electronic, Drum n Bass

Paper Dragon are a collective from Bristol fronted by Ruth Royall. With releases on the likes of Hospital Records, Shogun and Spearhead, Ruth has been nothing shy of a success in the UK Jazz scene and DnB circuit. More recently, her collaborations with the likes of Grafix for ‘Refuge’ with and Pola & Bryson for ‘Running in the Dark’ earnt her props from Earth, Wind And Fire for ‘‘Having of having one of the most versatile voices on the scene”. And if that wasn’t enough, her recent #KeepItReal campaign, which was supported by UKF and Drum&BassArena, saw Ruth put her stamp on the scene by promoting body and image positivity and challenging negative social media expectations. Meanwhile, the other ‘Dragons’; Bruce Turner, Kris Burton and Jonathan Savage have worked with the likes of U2, Kate Bush, Massive Attack, Rick Rubin, Brian Eno, Underworld, KOAN Sound, TC, Distorted Minds, NAO, Mount Kimbie and Fred V & Grafix, to name a few. More

EP: Late Arcades

Electronic

As trite as it may sound, it’d be nearly unfair not to say it: it’s a vibe. London-based duo Real Lies specialize in the ineffable moments that seem to drift between the present and memory, the moments in which feelings bubble to the surface only to flit away behind your very eyes, omnipresent, yet somehow invisible. Their latest offering, “Late Arcades” begins softly, subtly consuming the listener, before the tune flips entirely towards its middle point, imploding into a twinkling, thumping groove. Speaking on the song, lead singer Kev Kharas shares, “‘Late Arcades’ is a song about taking risks late at night. It’s about being pursued to the seaside by self-destructive urges and set upon by them there, where the neon lights fizz at the edge of darkness. It’s about being locked into a zone of total, fleeting pleasure – ecstatic eyes swivelling back into your head as you bounce from machine to cigarette to drink to machine and back again before choking up as a rockabilly widower sings ‘Blue Bayou’ at a karaoke pub on the front and you miss the last train home. It’s about squinting into your phone in the dark and wishing for a call from a childhood friend who went missing on a night of total, fleeting pleasure a long time ago.“ More

EP: Big Now

Alt Pop, Pop

The Hemel-Hempstead based newcomer makes irresistible alt-pop and 2021’s much-hyped single ‘Big Now’ was playlisted @ BBC 6Music and picked up further support from BBC Radio 1, DIY Magazine and Radio X. In addition to this Low Girl sold out their first London headline show at The Lexington, played Reading & Leeds festivals, as well as picking up support slots with both Dream Wife and The Murder Capital. The lyrics of the single find Low Girl continuing the themes found across her debut EP, feelings of loneliness, self-worth, mental health and the constant trials and struggles of finding one’s identity growing up. Specifically, in this case the experience of wanting someone seemingly unattainable, as Low Girl explains “There was a girl I liked who was quite hot and cold with me. I’d end up feeling pretty disorientated, trying to maintain some sense of composure and resolve but failing miserably. I knew none of it was good for me, but my tendency to be self-destructive made it inevitable.” With a slot already confirmed at SXSW, a support tour with Pom Poko and a run of headline dates in March, 2022 is firmly shaping up to be Low Girl’s year. More

EP - Quite Early One Morning

Singer Songwriter, Dream Pop, Pop

Philip Brook’s gentle songwriting floats it’s way through the hazy pastel clouds of dream-pop from which it is built. Often Philip’s work is a “celebration of platonic love” with a hint of woeful, wistful, worry. Stuttgart born and based Brooks is no stranger to melancholy and in a heart felt interview with GAY, opened up about the difficulties they’ve felt in the past connecting to the music they’re making. “Throughout lockdown I had a big identity crisis in music, gender and personality and felt like I haven’t been true to myself in a long while,” Philip wrote on Instagram. “Trying to fight off accepting being non-binary and just having changed a lot as a person. I felt that reflected in myself but also the music I put out over the last year. I thought so much about the music that is expected of me and tried to stick to my ‘old sound’ for the sake of it and with that alienated myself from my own project. I just want to be true to myself in the things I release and see myself and my emotions in them. I spent my whole life moulding myself to fit what people around me want me to be or do and I’m done with that,” they said. A prolific songwriter and artist, Philip’s new direction is clearly connecting with their fans, having amassed over 3 million plays on Spotify and with plenty of hungry followers on their tail. More

EP: Overflow Pt 1

Pop, Singer Songwriter

Dahlia Sleeps varied influences include electronic acts like Burial and groups with a penchant for pitting complex percussion against rich, sparkling guitars, similar to Florence + The Machine or The National. The duo’s forthcoming debut album has been a long time in the works but sees them deliver more richly crafted, refined music. Released in 2 parts, Overflow Pt 1 features the 1st 5 tracks of the as yet unreleased full 10 track album (n.b available as the album for programming) and having been a BBC Introducing featured artist, supported by Huw Stevens and appeared on the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Shortlist, this long player will no doubt endear them even more to the industry. Other notable placements of their music include TV shows including Love Island, The Voice, Made in Chelsea and they've garnered support in publications like NME ("compelling"), The FADER, Clash “Wonderfully engrossing, the band's nuanced electronic-pop operates in a template of its own”, Complex “If you're yet to hear about Dahlia Sleeps, then you better start taking note”, DIY “They shoot for the stars with no second thought”, Pigeons and Planes “One of those bands that just have the "it" factor”! More

EP: Our Heaviness

Alt Indie, Alt Pop

Lindsay Munroe is a captivating new alt-indie artist based in Manchester. Bold and unflinchingly honest, she pairs swelling synths and swaggering guitars with painfully introspective lyrics, evoking acts like Sharon Van Etten, Laura Marling and Marika Hackman. At once assured and startlingly vulnerable, her music invites you into her world, but on her terms. After teasing new material at a sell-out hometown show, Munroe released her debut EP in 2020, produced by Chris Hamilton (LUMP, Torres) and featuring Fern Ford (The Big Moon) it has been praised by everyone from Line Of Best Fit to her musical here Sharon Van Etten herself, who publicly expressed her love for the heart wrenching single “Split”. Played heavily on BBC Introducing, she has also performed at Dot to Dot Festival and toured with the likes of Luke Sital Singh and David Kitt. ‘The Manchester acoustic scene’s most exciting young graduate’ – David Sue, Manchester Evening News. ‘A hugely promising debut from an extremely talented new artist’ – IndieLondon - “A raw and devastating reckoning with shame” Line Of Best Fit. More

EP: The Crossing

Singer Songwriter

Coruja Jones is a songwriting project from Manchester (UK) based musician and songwriter Dan Jones. Born in Dudley, in the West Midlands (England), he moved north to study music in Salford in 2016 and became part of Manchester’s eclectic musical landscape.‘The Crossing’ is his first album released under the moniker Coruja* Jones, made up of a collection of songs based around the experiences leading up to and following the death of his father in 2016. Working with Manchester based producer and long-term friend Justin Shearn, along with other local musicians, The Crossing is a culmination of 3 years of exploring life, death and everything in between; with many hours crafting the right sound and space for the songs to live in. Whilst in Manchester, Dan also discovered and developed his love for Afro-Brazilian percussion and Carnival styles, studying music from Brazil and other Carnival styles, which has taken him around the globe. Accolades come from amongst others, Tom Robinson, BBC6 Music and Steve Harris, Fresh On The Net. More