PICK OF THE WEEK: ELLI INGRAM: ' SWEET & SOUR'

ELLI INGRAM, from gigging in small-town colourful Brighton to rocking a crowd of over 10,000 at Glastonbury, Elli Ingram is making them tidal waves in the music industry, and her time is very much now.

Ingram approaches music with a fearless and fiery attitude, which bursts through in her recorded music and live performance. This week’s Pick of the Week is ‘Sweet and Sour’, a flavoursome tune by the fast emerging young musician AND set to support Tom Grennan in our very own The Academy, Dublin this Saturday, 27th October. 

Backed by uplifting beats and joyful melodies, ‘Sweet and Sour’ takes us on an explorative journey through a winding relationship – the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the Sweet and Sour. Elli provokes thought and reflection in her words in a unique way that remains fun and playful throughout and we find ourselves both uplifted by it’s endearing qualities and taken back by the raw honesty. In just one track, she manages to showcase many different angles of her insane talent. We witness an eclectic vocal range and a unique diversity in playing around with it, mixing alternate tones and tempos throughout. Elli delivers maturity and sophistication, while maintaining playful creativity in her craft. 

Owning a style which we describe as a modern blend of RnB, soul and jazz, Ingram creates a track that elevates the listener to a higher musical experience, stirring the kind of response every artist aims to achieve in their audience. We listen, we sing, we dance, and we feel.

Written by Aoife Chaney

PICK OF THE WEEK: BLACKWAVE - 'ELUSIVE'

This week's pick of the week is the love-child of Belgium based duo BLACKWAVE and soul sensation DAVE NGYAH.

ELUSIVE is a relatively unknown and therefore underrated track, and one that caught our attention by flawlessly blending each of our favourite musical genres. Smooth hip hop grooves remain prominent throughout, at times integrated with 90's RnB sounds and at others complemented by a live band of jazz musicians. Light-hearted rap keeps the verses playful, offering an unexpected but welcomed surprise when NGYAH swoops in with a sultry and soulful chorus.

"She took the funk out of my soul My rhythm is bluesin'

I see the moods, that you been swinging over me

Climbing mountains we can climb together

I shed by standing in your way

Or is it the money that I can't pay"

BLACKWAVE, made up of Producer Willem Ardui and rapper Jay Walker, showcase their talent and diversity further in their chilling music video to ELUSIVE. Aesthetically pleasing and inspired by nature, the video features floral wonderlands and sandy beaches occupied by ballet dancers and perfectly orchestrated musicians.

A superb cinematic spectacle to complement a superb track. Check it out here - it'll take the funk right outa your soul.

Written by Aoife Chaney

PICK OF THE WEEK: JAEL

JAEL is a singer-songwriter and UK-based wordsmith with a soulful voice amongst jazzy and Afro-beat instrumentation. Her music is a mixture of soft and upbeat, intertwined with a clear and soothing voice which makes Jael an artist suited as 'anytime music'.

Here is a snippet of her performing a version of Bob Marley’s ‘Is This Love’ which played at the We Welcome Party back in March earlier this year.

Jael can also be found featuring on Boadi’s track, ‘Grow’ which is well worth a listen. 

Her debut EP ‘ODYSSEY’ will be out on all platform in the coming days! For more, follow JAEL at @jaelthevoice.

PICK OF THE WEEK: BOADI - 'THE FEELING'

Oíche's 'pick of the week' is yet another product of London's creative community. British-Ghanaian producer, BOADI is tickling our musical tastebuds this week with his soulful tune, "The Feeling". The track displays his talents and knowledge of instrumentation, through the incorporation of brass, synth and bass like only Boadi (and maybe Earth, Wind & Fire😊) know how.

A standout tune from his second EP, "The Feeling" is a fusion of soul, jazz & RnB, lifted by a burst of bouncy afrobeat and just some good vibrations.

Co-produced & wonderfully complemented by Aaron London, the aptly named track is a perfect balance of traditional & modern musical settings. It takes us to a smoky New Orleans jazz bar in the early 1900's while somehow simultaneously launching us forward into a futuristic London cocktail club - and we are more than buzzed to embark on this journey.

Through Boadi's sultry repetition of "floating" & "dreaming", we find ourselves effortlessly afloat silky smooth waves and into to the heavier, and even funkier second half, at which point we turn up the volume and by now have lost ourselves entirely in a musical dream.

Written by Aoife Chaney