5 female music talents to keep an eye on - #7

Music hides many stories, a thousand shades of different lives, told to the sound of beats that seduce the listener. Crystal Murray, Gabriela Richardson, Lavaud, SATYA and Cecilia come from different worlds, pasts and experiences, but they share a love for soul and the awareness that singing is their destiny. Their voices are powerful, seductive, refined, dressed in pop influences, electro, sometimes with melancholic vibes.

Turn up the volume, listen to them and fall in love with the talent of these 5 emerging artists.

Crystal Murray

In 2016, a group of creative and cool girls between the ages of 14 and 16 called the Gucci Gang set Paris ablaze, attending every fashion show, event or party and emerging as the symbol of a new digital generation. The youngest member among them was Crystal Murray. Once the story of the collective ended, Crystal, who is now a little more than 18, founded the platform Safe Place to give voice to all victims of sexual abuse and, at the same time, she focused on music. As proven by the singles Princess and After Ten, the nightlife is still a great inspiration for this talented singer who, the daughter of an African-American jazz musician and a French-Spanish mother with a hobby of music, grew up listening to Macy Gray, John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and Beyoncé. I Was Wrong, her debut EP released in April 2020 is made up of 5 tracks that, with soft sounds inspired by jazz and RnB on which Crystal's soulful voice is set, talk about the difficulty of growing up and how you feel. 

Gabriela Richardson

Gabriela Richardson has an eclectic talent. She's a model, an activist (her socials are a platform she actively uses to support the Black Lives Matter movement), a musician. Her collaboration with the DJ collective Yall for the hit Hundred Miles, which became the soundtrack of a famous Desigual commercial in 2015, has launched her among the most interesting emerging names in the made-in-Barcelona music scene. Then, singles such as Crime, a song about a love disappointment, En Verano and Don't Talk to Me, with their mix of electronic pop and melancholic melodies, strengthened her status as an artist, bringing her a little closer to her myths that include Mazzy Star, Radiohead, Tyler, the Creator, Frank Ocean, Nirvana and Camarón de la Isla.

Cecilia

Cecilia Del Bono knew she wanted to be a singer at the age of 8. Since then she has refined her sound more and more and, inspired by her love for soul, Brazilian rhythms and the great Italian classics, she began her personal musical research. Using piano, guitar and voice she has developed a very refined style, but with pop veins that can reach the ear and soul of listeners. Her voice hits deep and goes easily from the delicacy of Coltrane to Baltico with its tale of an exhausted love that is about to sink, from Karma, a song about how the evil done comes back later, to the new single Tè verde which has as its leading theme the reconciliation between two people who, after missing each other for a period of time, get closer.

Lavaud

LAVAUD (pronounced "La-Vo") is the stage name of Estelle Lavaud, 26-year-old artist of Mauritian origins born and raised in the London borough of Hackney. She discovered the love for music as a child, listening to her father play his bass in a band, and, since then, she has cultivated it with devotion, as she told G-Club: 

"I fell in love with everything about the process, the writing, the composing, the performance, it was just such a natural and authentic part of my childhood. When I was six years old, I realised I could sing during a church service and I knew there was no turning back, music and artistry have been a part of my life ever since."

Her listens, ranging from Rihanna to Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey to Wiz Kid, helped shape the sound of her first EP, titled King Vaud releasing on May 7th, where she sings in both English and French. The title track, which is accompanied by a captivating video shot in Jamaica, features the same exotic vibe and sensual Afrobeats that reign in the rest of the EP.

"King Vaud is a song on theEP, it’s the title track and it was me just simply wanting to change the narrative, break down the boundaries of femininity or masculinity. Women can be whatever they want to be, including a King. Self-identity is key and I believe we should be ourselves and hold whichever title or label we choose if it empowers us. The song holds a bold and powerful message that exudes confidence and allows you to feel like royalty, it’s all about creating a sense of liberty, as people when we feel free we can accomplish anything. So titling the EP King Vaud seemed like a natural fit, I’m here to empower, break rules and I’m daring to dream out loud." - explains the singer to nss G-Club.

Satya

Despite her young age, SATYA ( which means "Truth" in Indian) went through a lot of suffering: from abandonment by her biological parents to bullying at school, from attempted suicide to addiction. The songs of Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, Nina Simone, have been an escape route, a refuge in which to find the strength to rise up and shine, an inspiration to tell her story through music and show the world her talent. The powerful voice of the Canadian singer finds its perfect match in In Trouble, the new single that mixes dance-pop and electronic vibes to talk about that strange feeling you get when you meet true love, but you feel like you're in trouble because you've lost control. The track is also a wish that SATYA makes to her fans:

"In Trouble means a lot to me because I never expected to find this kind of honest and genuine love. This is first and foremost what I wish people the most. I wish they find the love they deserve, that they find someone who will make them shine."