‘LATELY, I’VE BEEN JUST WHAT I NEED...’ sings Olivia Dean, her voice fluttering over a buoyant melody. ‘Stole my heart and I’m gonna be my own boyfriend’. Dean’s songs are self-love singles that empower young women. Her relatable internetisms, compelling storytelling and powerhouse pop vocals come with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humour.
Dean got her first taste of performance in a gospel choir. ‘I was always a very shy child,’ she says. ‘I remember my mum saying, “If you want to be a singer, you better start learning to sing in front of people.” So, I joined a group and went every weekend – I loved it.’
As a teenager, she honed her technical prowess at the Brit School, whose alumni include Adele, Amy Winehouse and FKA Twigs, while also perfecting her confessional lyricism. She released her debut EP, 'Ok Love You Bye' in 2019. Two more followed in 2021 – 'If You Know What I Mean' and 'Growth' – the first details a painful breakup, the latter explores all of the positive transformations that came from it.
Also an emerging presence in fashion, Dean featured in a campaign for Chanel’s 1932 jewellery before sitting front row at their AW22 show in Paris.
Dean’s new track 'Be My Own Boyfriend' looks set to propel her to new heights as she prepares to release her debut album later this year. ‘I’m interested in small scenarios and subtle interactions,’ she says. ‘Writing a song can be like taking a picture; you capture a moment, and then it’s there forever.’
TRACK TO PLAY: 'Be My Own Boyfriend.'
WHEN TO LISTEN: Alone, while falling head over heels in love with yourself.
‘I LOVE ANY SONG THAT YOU MIGHT HEAR on late-night radio,’ says Cosima, as she reflects on Prince’s 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. It’s a legendary track, obliterating and heart-breaking, the kind most artists wouldn’t dare to cover – apart from Sinéad O’Connor and, now, Cosima. In the enigmatic rendition she put out last year, her voice is beautiful and haunting.
The 28-year-old grew up in Peckham before moving to Germany when she was 18 to live with her grandparents. A fresh start gave her an opportunity to hone her skills as a musician. With few distractions, she took classical singing lessons and start-ed writing daily. Four years later, she signed to Island Records before choosing to go independent. Ever since, she’s chosen to release music on her own terms, via her label, South of Heaven Records, making her one of a new generation of musicians who are taking control of their careers, away from the traditional system of old.
The Fun is Here?, her latest EP, is deeply reflective. 'Backseat Drivers' is about her teenage years in Stuttgart: ‘It was a weird and lonely time; I’d hear the local kids outside together, but I had no friends.’
'Refrain 3-2 (The Last of England)' looks back at her roots. ‘I remember messy summers, boys playing football, dads getting kicked out and clothes being thrown from the balcony. It’s such a specific window [of time] – I wrote about it to remember the Peckham I grew up in.’
TRACK TO PLAY: 'Backseat Drivers.'
WHEN TO LISTEN: In the car, for loud, cathartic singalongs.
ALTHOUGH ‘HEALING’ HAS BECOME a buzzword in the last few years, Ibeyi’s third album, Spell 31, explores the concept with remarkable depth. ‘What’s beautiful about healing, is that no matter who you are, we all need it,’ says Lisa-Kaindé Diaz, one of the twin sisters(Naomi is the other) who make up Ibeyi.
The album was written during the pandemic, when confronted with suddenly clear schedules. ‘Stopping allowed us to look inwards,’ Lisa explains.
Lisa and Naomi had been on a steady cycle of recording and touring ever since releasing their self-titled debut albumin 2015. As the daughters of a French-Venezuelan singer mother and a Cuban percussionist father, music has always been in their life, ‘Our first tour was in Cuba with our dad and [jazz musician] Roy Hargrove, when we were two,’ says Naomi. ‘For a long time, we were always the youngest people there.’ The pair lived in Havana for the first two years of their life, before moving to Paris where Naomi still lives (Lisa is based in London).
The pair are true musical multi-hyphenates; their repertoire covering everything from soul to spoken word.Their style caught the attention of Beyoncé, who invited Ibeyi to appear on her 2016 visual album Lemonade. The same year, they performed at Chanel’s Cruises how in Cuba; the first international fashion show in the country since 1959.
For Spell 31, they worked with Jorja Smith and the rapper Pa Salieu. Inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead, they looked to the healing practices of ancient cultures, while also looking at their own anxieties. ‘You forget yourself if you’re constantly transforming to be what you think other people want,’ says Lisa. ‘It’s only when we let go of that idea that we can say hello to discovering who we really are.’
TRACK TO PLAY: 'Made of Gold.'
WHEN TO LISTEN: The days when your therapist is busy
DEBBIE MAY HAVE ONLY RELEASED a handful of songs, but she’s already catch-ing the attention of the music industry, including John Legend, for whom she opened for this summer at Somerset House. Then there’s her Def Jam label-mate, Stormzy: the pair recently co-wrote multiple tracks for her new album. ‘He had just got back from Jamaica and was telling me about this ritual he’d discovered,’ she says. ‘You take something that represents your worries and you throw it into the river – we based our song on that.’
Raised in a religious family, Debbie grew up on a strict diet of gospel music. She’d play Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin on repeat, and when a friend bought her a guitar for her birthday she instinctively started working on her own compositions, performing them at open mic nights where she caught the attention of her now-manager. Debbie’s own songs carry a lot of the same qualities as the artists she grew up listening to, from powerful melodies to rich displays of emotion, though hers have a distinctive contemporary edge. 'All Night Long' explores toxic relation-ships, while 'Is This Real Love?' comments on the way ‘people’s perception of love has been warped [by social media]’.
While things haven’t always been smooth sailing in the 22-year-old singer’s romantic life (‘I’ve been in one very on-and-off relationship since I was 16’), her tumultuous experiences have provided great songwriting material. She knows exactly how to use them, crafting neo-soul ballads that centre around love, loss and empowerment.
‘I made "Is This Real Love?" in lock down,’ she says. ‘My sister and I were wondering why divorce rates were so high and why so many relationships fall apart. It’s like we connect with our partners on such a surface level at first, and years later you start to actually understand the person.’ She looked to the past for answers, exploring ancient philosophical definitions of love. ‘You need commitment, self-awareness, compromise, forgiveness... It’s not all about “couple goals”.’
TRACK TO PLAY: 'Is This Real Love?'.
WHEN TO LISTEN: On late nights and lazy sunny afternoons.
BARACK OBAMA PICKED HOPE TALA’S track 'Cherries' as one of his summer songs of 2022 (the second time she’s made his annual list), and we can see why. Featuring rapper Aminé, it’s an R&B-in-fused ear worm. With influences as eclectic as Eighties and Nineties band Everything but the Girl, Shakespeare and Lauryn Hill, it’s unsurprising that the London-born-and-raised singer has a dexterous discography. 'Love stained' is a deliriously sunlit love song, while 'Is it Enough' is a defiant commentary on every-thing from racism and police brutality to LGBTQ+ equality.
‘Most people just write love songs. Love is essential, it’s what makes the world go round – but I also want to write about things I care about beyond that,’says Tala. She cites Kehlani as one of the musicians who inspires her the most. ‘She’s biracial and queer, like me. She comes across as fearless, but she’s not afraid to be vulnerable. That’s something I try to do,’ Tala explains. 'I try to preserve my softness and vulnerability because they’re the tools I use to write with.’
It’s a winning formula. Tala started uploading songs at university in Bristol where she was studying English Literature. But after the release of 'Love stained' in 2019, she decided to drop out and focus on music. It was a risk that paid off. In the years since, she’s been invited to play at Glastonbury and O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Her latest single, 'Party Sickness', is pop at its most playful. Like a young Lily Allen, Tala delivers lyrics about chaotic nights out with the most angelic vocals. The video reveals her love for Nineties teen movies, which she also credits with influencing her style. ‘My biggest fashion icon is Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You; I love a Nineties rom-com,’ she says.
Next year, she will release her debut album. ‘It’s going to be a lot more introspective than what’s come before,’ she explains. ‘I’ve been exploring my past and my childhood; there are a lot of themes I’ve never looked at before – but it’s still going to sound like me.’
TRACK TO PLAY: 'Party Sickness.'
WHEN TO LISTEN: The morning after, and the night before.
