5 emerging female artists to keep an eye on - #3

Their names are Ama Lou, WOLF, Girl Ultra, ILIRA and Giorgieness. They have found in R&B and pop a way to express their world. Each with her own style. Everyone with talent, passion and commitment. 

Ama Lou

Before Drake quoted her lyrics on Instagram, before she went on tour with Jorja Smith, before Brooklyn Beckham photographed her, Ama Lou was just an 11-year-old girl, obsessed with Hannah Montana and Destiny's Child, playing the guitar with her father sitting at the kitchen table. Born and raised in London, listening to Gil Scott-Heron, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday, Ama impressed everyone with TBC, her debut single inspired by the police killing of Eric Garner, an event that contributed to the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement. There's something extremely fascinating and hypnotic about Ama Lou's music, in her warm voice, enhanced by minimal production and authentic, highly expressive songwriting.  Her natural, soulful sound seems almost antithetical to the angular aesthetics of her visuals as confirmed by the first EP, titled DDD (aka Dawn, Day, Dusk), which was followed by a funny and evocative short film made by the singer herself with her sister Mahalia. Even when it comes to personal style Ama Lou has a rule: she always wears jewels, rarely wears makeup and never wears women's clothes. However, she is always super cool. 

WOLF

Smart and poetic rhymes that mix English and Italian. WOLF is definitely one of the talents to keep an eye on. Its evocative indie pop, full of R&B and hip hop influences, seems born to be the soundtrack of a movie, perfect for a night road trip looking for yourself. The latest single, Pillow, is an uncompromising hymn to being who you are, with no compromises, that you can sing loudly. 

Girl Ultra

Girl Ultra is not only the musical alter ego of Mariana "Nan" de Miguel, but she is also a kind of superheroine, that extrovert and hidden part of the personality that emerges when she is on stage. The young Mexican artist grew up listening to Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, Aaliyah and has found in R&B a universal genre, full of female power and able to talk about human emotions with which we all relate as love, broken hearts, sex. Astrology enthusiast, determined and emotionally intense, Girl Ultra cut her teeth singing in nightclubs until she signed a contract with Finesse Records. It took her a couple of EPs and an album, entitled Nuevos Aires, all in Spanish, to conquer a predominantly English-speaking international scene. Her sound is sensual, deep, but, at the same time, innovative to the point that some people compare her to Cat Power or Warpaint and others even call her the Drake of Mexico City. 

ILIRA

She looks like a pop-glam and ultra girlie mash-up between Kristen Ritter, Kylie Jenner and Dua Lipa. Ilira Gashi, aka ILIRA, is an eclectic mix of origins, influences and inspirations ranging from Nirvana to Rihanna (with whom she dreams of singing one day). Kosovo-Albanian, born and raised in Switzerland, she has always wanted to be a pop star. She joined several talent shows and, when she was just sixteen years old, she performed on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest. Now the girl has grown up and developed a pop, irreverent and captivating sound and look. Any examples? The videos of EXTRA FRIES, Get Off My D!ck and Royalty.  

Giorgieness

Powerful, fascinating, Giorgieness, Giorgia D'Eraclea's musical project is constantly evolving. After her debut album, titled La Giusta Distanza and the following Siamo Tutti Stanchi her sound has become more and more defined and focused, passing from a visceral and rough rock, then to a more melodic one, up to the songwriting pop of the new work coming out in autumn 2020.

I think that music grows with the person who makes it, and it's been almost ten years since I have started writing for Giorgieness. - says the singer - I had found in hard rock, almost grunge, the right form for what I felt: anger, love that overwhelms and destroys, pain, insecurity, growing up. Over the years, however, I have developed a different way of approaching life, I no longer feel the need to "scream" to make myself heard, I discovered that it is from dialogue and from the head that revolutions start. Also my approach to writing has changed a lot: I wanted to make it simple and deep, more than before, opening a window on my vision of the world, not only on what I feel inside. 

At the end of May, Giorgieness will release the new single Maledetta, produced by Ramiro Levy (Selton's voice and guitar), Marco Olivi (Ghemon, Ex Otago) and Davide Napoleone. We are sure it will be the confirmation of her brilliant talent.