It would appear that underground electronic music has a bit of a thing for female soul-tress’s, but in an already crowded powder room do we really need another?
Its not like the use of a female vocal is a new trend, however since the crossover success of Ms Dynamite’s 2010 Wile Out vocal, its safe to say that artist’s and label’s that are perhaps considered more underground have seen the benefits of combining electronic sounds with female leads, a fact clearly highlighted with the emergence of Katy B from feat. to solo superstar. Since then the template has been pretty much set, crossover success = female vocal required, the most recent example being SBTRKT’s debut LP which features vocals from Roses Gabor, Little Dragon and Jessie Ware, with his Pharaoh’s single in particular going global. However as Katy B and now Jessie Ware have shown this is not a one sided affair, but a mutually beneficial arrangement with female vocalists helping the popularity of certain records, and electronic music providing a platform for a new breed of singer songwriters, such as LuLu James.
LuLu James hails from the far north of the UK, Newcastle, and her Rope Mirage single has been causing a bit of a stir in recent months with its James Blake type backing lending an almost sinister backdrop to a mournfully yet soulful vocal performance. It could be argued that the dubstep type rhythm is a little cliched in the current market, however the unconventional structure and unique vocal performance quickly dispel those fears, leaving you with a sense that this 21 year old talent will be bumping shoulders with her contemporaries in the not too distant future.
LuLu James – Rope Mirage EP (Out Now)