ONE TO WATCH: IYAMAH

Here at Oíche, we love all things soul, embracing the traditional genre as well as it's worthy & diversified counterpart - neo-soul. After a successful tour with her neo-soulsister Mahalia, Brighton beauty IYAMAH is unleashing her fiery soulful RnB vibes all over our "one to watch" radar.

Evident in her style is an artistic background, encouraged by a creative upbringing and influenced by empowering female artists like Alicia Keys and Erykah Badu. Unique to what we have witnessed so far from Iyamah is her ability to simplify the complex, to strip back the lyrics to create meaning and to let them shine brightly over a clean and tidy backing track. A delivery that is minimalist, with a result that is anything but.

In her debut single 'Cryptic Love', the London-based songstress exposes herself as a fool in love but a warrior in heartbreak, and the result is a powerful new-age love ballad that is both an instant hit and a sign of what's to come. As credible as a gentle pianist as she is a topline Drum n' Bass writer, Iyamah's silky smooth vocals paired with her rhythmic melodies leave us not only certain of but tickled with excitement about the future of soul music.

Written by Aoife Chaney

PICK OF THE WEEK: TASH SULTANA - 'JUNGLE'

Oíche's 'pick of the week' is a track by Melbourne-born busker turned psychedelic rockstar, TASH SULTANA. Best enjoyed between some good quality earphones with pristine clarity, JUNGLE is a manic exploration and fusion of musical styles and emotion.

The almost 2-minute long intro is Tash's sonic form personified - a story without words, told by an electric guitar, with the slow addition of some loop pedaling & drum beats as the plot unfolds. And, impressively behind every instrument - is the multi-instrumentalist & one-woman show that is Sultana. The words enter in an unpredictable manner that carries us this far and keeps us guessing what the singer-songwriter's next display of talent will be.

In keeping with a jungle theme, her vocals are wild & the lyrics untamed, jumping from high octaves to a touch reggae, even complemented at times by some welcomed rap. We are warped in the sounds like a chaotic yet perfectly harmonised stampede until the electric guitar solo is calmed by a final drum beats. We are captivated but free, dancing in the jungle.

Here we have a live performance of 'Jungle' below by Tash Sultana, which truly depicts her diversity and abilities as we claim her to be, one of our generation's most talented multi-instrumentalists.

Written by Aoife Chaney