Song of the Day: Palo Santo – Saint Joshua

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Frank Ocean, Solange and D’Angelo, SAINT JOSHUA‘s second single from his second EP, ‘Palo Santo’ brings an exciting soulful, rhythmic and cinematic sound immersed in rich harmonies.

A multi-layered track, ‘Palo Santo’ is innuendo filled covering love, fear of commitment and the importance of ridding negativity. The 26-year-old South Londoner says of the track who he co-wrote with collaborator Pearse Macintyre (Dua Lipa/ Emily Burns): “Palo Santo is probably my personal favourite. It was the first song written for the project and it was written a day or so after my 26th birthday. For me, I think it speaks to my generation, how cautious we are of people and protective we are of ourselves that we may become too careful and miss out on a good thing.” 

The singer has already racked up impressive online numbers with over 700,000 TikTok likes, over 100,000 YouTube views, 20,000 monthly listeners and over 14,000 followers across all social platforms. The anticipated 2nd EP is an exciting move from his debut EP, Pilot, which produces a diverse range of R&B/Soul sounds with Pop influences which introduces a colourful representation both sonically and visually.

Saint Joshua is no newcomer to music and performing having sang at school and having performed across the country for years learning his craft along with signing label deals. With early experience under his belt, it was only early 2021 during lockdown, armed with new music that Joshua decided it was now or never to re-launch his music to the world. Giving birth to the debut EP ‘Pilot’ along with its single’s I Like (March) which premiered on Wonderland Magazine with features in Rollacoaster and follow ups Love is (May) and Mi Amor (June). To accompany the releases, Joshua created a series of filmed content including an official video and a full acoustic live performance of the EP which was later released as a live EP, Pilot (Acoustic) (August) across all streaming platforms. Joshua’s debut material was met with great support from music and fashion publications, blogs and playlisting whilst building a growing steady international online fanbase.

Here’s your chance to watch the 70s inspired video for Saint Joshua’s ‘Palo Santo’…

Listen To Cyan’s New Single, ‘DWYW’

South London’s steady emerging R&B songstress CYAN releases her mighty follow up from preceding single ‘Tell Me’ with her latest track ‘DWYW’ (Do What You Want).

Lacing a smooth guitar-clad instrumental, Cyan makes it clear to her lover that she is no longer involved with this infectious offering. ‘DWYW’ is Cyan wearing her heart on her sleeve and making her feelings known.

Cyan makes her music video debut courtesy of Lucid Visuals, effortlessly showcasing her artist presence and unique style. Check it out below…

Song of the Day: Obsidian Cane – JUICE (ft. Lyriqé)

UK music producer OBSIDIAN CANE circles back again with Birmingham’s R&B singer/songwriter Lyriqé for their second collaborative single titled JUICE.

Putting a fresh twist on Mtume’s 80’s soul classic, ‘Juicy Fruit’, Obsidian provides a hefty yet sensuous bassline to allow way for Lyriqé’s alluringly flirtatious vocals to weave into the smooth afterhours arrangements; a sizzling combination that’ll ignite those steamy magical moments between lovers for Valentine’s Day.

‘JUICE’ follows the pair’s well-received first single, I’m Good, championed by the likes of YouKnowIGotSoul, Xune, Soul Addict, and Stereohearts R&B as well as London’s Vibes FM 107.6 Birmingham’s Switch Radio, New York’s Oneluv and Urban Movement in Australia.

With a career spanning over 20 years, Obsidian Cane has produced music for TV shows on Channel 4, BBC1 and BBC2. He also scored a club hit, ‘I Need A Rhythm’ as UK Garage act KP with music producer Paul Benjamin. More recently, Obsidian Cane released his three-track EP, RESET II, which was Champion by BBC London’s Jacqueline Shepherd.

Appearing in a school talent show at the tender age of four, ignited Lyriqé’s strong interest for music. Fast forward to 2015, she released her EP ‘What The Game Needs’ before taking a five year hiatus to garnish and reinvent her sound.

Lyriqé returned, armed with a fresh spin on soulful R&B in 2020 with her single ‘Mine’. Subsequent to the release, she has collaborated with fellow Birmingham artist ‘ChromeZ NeutroN’ on his ‘Silky’ EP (W.A.R.M, C.O.L.D) and has been working on a number of tracks with Obsidian Cane.

The duo built their growing collaboration on their love for R&B and soul music and want to share their take on the genre to R&B fans of all ages.

JUICE is now out across various platforms. Check it out below…

Song of the Day: Struggle Bus – Oleta Frances

Berkshire vocalist OLETA FRANCES‘ first release of the year, ‘Struggle Bus’ is a transparent, heartfelt single based on a previous romantic relationship she had that did not work out, detailing how she felt about the whole experience. She choose the title of the single, to compare a situation that is not good for your mental or physical health, to a bumpy bus journey, where you have the choice to get off the ride or stay on and continue to Struggle.

Oleta Frances has always had a passion for music and it is something that has always been a significant part of her life, but it was only last year that she decided to take the plunge into taking her craft more seriously. This plunge started off by Oleta recording covers to existing songs on Instagram and gaining some traction organically. One of the songs covered by Oleta was a song entitled ‘Picky’ by Joey Montana, which he noticed and shared on his profile. This gave Oleta the confidence and motivation to continue perfecting craft and start creating original songs. In this period, ‘Struggle Bus’ and several other songs were created. In fact, Struggle Bus has already been played twice on BBC Introducing Berkshire last year, prior to its release date last month.

So this is your chance to take in the soulful bounce of ‘Struggle Bus’

Kinzoogianna Shares Stunning New Single, ‘Cinnamon Bun’

Multi-talented producer, record label owner, songwriter, pianist and singer KINZOOGIANNA unveils her toe-tingling new single, ‘Cinnamon Bun’, released via Brotherly Music/Kudos Records.

Described as a ‘London Sunday out walking, and bumping into The Isley Brothers’, the piano-led single invites you to lose yourself into a soft and tranquil fusion of Nu-Jazz and neo-soul, all washed over by Kinzoogianna’s delicately soulful vocals.

Kinzoogianna – whose real name is Anna Stubbs – is part of ground breaking Nu Jazz /Broken Beat band Brotherly, alongside Rob Mullarkey. Championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Benji B, Moses Boyd, Jacob Collier , and Jordan Rakei, the duo were nominated for BBC Radio 1 Worldwide best session of the year after recording for Gilles at Maida Vale Studios.

Out last Friday (4th February), ‘Cinnamon Bun’ is the first single from Kinzoogianna’s forthcoming debut album, ‘Gold For The Hungry Souls’, slated for release on 4th August. Have a listen to this beauty below…