Every month, Donna Arendse of Lekker Collective and Majestic Casual curates a playlist of soulful tracks by – or featuring – female artists.
I’m late to the table when it comes to Ego Ella May, to be completely honest. Some retrospective digging on my part unearthed that the IAMNOBODI collaborator has been on a lengthly hiatus (for internet times) of three years. She’s returned with renewed vigour on “Table for One” and its accompanying video – a narrative which represents beautiful insight for every woman.
The track takes an old soul sensibility, marries it to “current” aesthetics, bottles it all up in a message of healing, growth and self-love and adds divine instrumentation and a slightly anti-pop song structure to really stand out. My favourite find of the month, hands-down.
P.S. if you like this track, you just might enjoy Hiatus Kaiyote’s “Breathing Underwater”
Norwegian songstress Charlotte Dos Santos is – dare I say – an obvious, effortless addition for this playlist. An evident old-soul with her jazz influenced style and narrative songwriting, the (now) Berlin-based Fresh Selects label pick is gaining steady attention as she pushes the boundaries of jazz and soul with her unique sound. Enjoy this live performance of Fredfades produced track “Cleo“.
This track by LA-based artist Alex Isley has been on my “must-playlist-and/or-write-about” list since its release almost a year ago. Following in the footsteps of an RnB legacy led by her uncles and father (who collectively make up the Isley Brothers ), the multitalented artist wrote and produced “On II U.”, which comes from her latest offering The Beauty Of Everything Pt. 1.
Guitar riffs form the foundation of the track while subtle, understated instrumentation, synth work by Grammy award winner Terrace Martin and dreamy vocal play bring the Bryson Tiller and Kendrick Lamar collaborator to your attention, almost without you noticing.
p.s. Contagious by Isley Brothers is still my jam.
Australian producer & singer-songwriter Milan Ring has also come out of a somewhat lengthly hiatus, emerging with a reflreshing slew of new singles this year. “Drifting” is the latest, slightly reminiscent of SZA, with Ring ellaborating on the themes – “The frustration one can have with someone who is unable to move forward, but the patience and love one must have in order for them to grow.”
The multi-instrumentalist has found herself in the studio with SZA, LL Cool J, BJ The Chicago Kid and more, co-wrote D.R.A.M’s record ‘I’ll Be Back Again’ with The Social Experiment Crew (Chance The Rapper’s band) in L.A. I can imagine we’ll be seeing and hearing alot more from the chanteuse over the next few years.
Corinne Bailey Rae – Que Sera Sera
An exquisite take on the 1956 Doris Day classic “Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera)”, “Que Sera Sera” was recorded live for Corinne’s The Love EP back in 2011. A song that every little girl came into contact with when they are young – this cover is 13 minutes long and I guarantee you won’t even notice the time passing.
Listen to the full playlist here: bit.ly/womenandsoul
