Photography: Khali Ackford

Following her signing to Hospital Records in February this year, SOLAH will release her debut album on the label on October 14.

The album – entitled King – brings together recent singles Brand New, Love For Me Too and Elevate plus 10 other tracks that showcase SOLAH’s full range and unique jazzy, neo soul style that she first discussed with UKF way back in 2019 when we interviewed her around the time of her Halogenix collaboration Out Of Line.

“When I wrote it I didn’t have any set vision but looking back there’s definitely an optimistic state of mind that I was in,” reflects Brighton-based SOLAH. “It was quite a positive few years – a lot of love songs on there, a lot of happiness, a lot of thanks and a little bit of looking back over nice times.”

This vibe is reflected in the album as SOLAH joins the dots between her soulful and jazzy influences and big, warm dancefloor grooves, stretching her legs both stylistically and lyrically. “Most of my songs are written based on personal experience,” the singer / songwriter explains.

“What’s going in my life, or the lives of people I know  life really determines what I write. I find that helps lyrics and point of view if you’re somehow attached to the situation – it gives more depth and meaning to the song and you chose slightly stranger words if it’s real life rather than the generic cliché stuff.”

The end result is a powerful jolt of funk, realism and honest soul that touches on styles such as the New Forms era Bristol D&B and the work of Jenna G and Uncut while sounding wholly and unmistakably like SOLAH. “Another part of the vision of the album is determined by the people involved and the producers I write with,” explains SOLAH who worked with a decorated rollcall of producers on the album such as BCee, Mitekiss, Son, Unglued, Halogenix, Nu:Tone, Random Movement, QZB, Enei, Waeys and Tease & Reset.

“What’s special about this is that I’ve been able to be in the driving seat creatively and, while I got inspired by the music provided, it wasn’t edited back and forth as it has been in the past. It’s unedited SOLAH and a lot of the arrangement has stayed the same – nothing was cut up or moved around. So thanks to the producers involved who were up for trying something new and doing that.”

Full creative control and a powerful blend of musicality, soul and D&B fusion. King is an album fresh from an exciting D&B queen and is one of the strongest and most cohesive albums Hospital Records have released all year. Pre-order it now.

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