Every month, Donna Arendse of Lekker Collective and Majestic Casual curates a playlist of soulful tracks by – or featuring – female artists
Photo by Nestoras Argiris on Unsplash
Summer Walker – Karma
If you need a break-up song, a sexy song, a great RnB song, or just the perfect song – Summer Walker’s “Karma” is the one for you.
Taken from debut album “Last Day Of Summer”, woozy guitar and spacey production leaves ample space for the Atlanta natives’ astonishing voice to amble around, singing as the personification of karma. Changing it up between choppy, then harmony laden verses and choruses, Summer simultaneously manages to be both sweetness and sharp edges, moody soul and Atlanta colloquialisms.
Biig Piig – Perdida (prod. Boss Nass)
20-year-old London-based Irish vocalist Biig Piig is making lo-fi waves in the jazzy RnB and rap world with her gorgeous, almost understated sound. “Perdida”, a romantic sounding neo-soul jam produced by Boss Nass (who is also Puma Blue), features vinyl crackle, jazz keys and well placed bass riffs lay which the groundwork for guitar delicate licks and Jess Smyth’s English and Spanish verses. Yet another study in musical perfection.
Tiana Khasi – Nuketown
Australian jazz vocalist and songwriter Tiana Khasi has just dropped her future soul leaning, official debut single Nuketown. Well known for her soulful vocals on tracks from The Kite String Tangle, Sampology and Golden Vessel, Khasi steps into her own as a solo artist with a mature, jazz infused sound which feels both wonderfully nostalgic, and refreshingly modern. Out via Soul Has No Tempo (the same label who introduced us to Jordan Rakei), Tiana’s debut is an effortless product of a collaborative improvised session with producer Sampology and bassist, Sam Maguire.
Lyves – Still
I have been such a fan of London-based songwriter and producer Lyves since her 2017 “Like Water” EP release. This year she has shown how unstoppable she is with a slew of new music for her upcoming Eight Rooms project, which sees the Italian-born artist pair a series of songs with striking short films. Using her impressive production skills, enchanting vocals, and masterful electronic layering, Lyves harmoniously combines extraordinary tension and tranquillity in “Still” – a mesmerising reflective story of despair, littered with moments of climatic transcending hope.
Umii – “The One”
The creative lovechild of B. BRAVO and RnB vocalist Reva DeVito, Umii has been releasing sultry, soulful tunes for the past year via tastemaker label Fresh Selects. Reminiscent of early Kelela, shuffling beats, syncopated melodic lines and tasteful production bring a subtle, less-is-more feel on “The One”.
Listen to the full playlist here.
