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Rockin’ To This Vol. 21

Sixty tracks, almost none of which you will have heard on the radio, and nearly all of which you will want to keep. This is what deep-crate curation looks like when someone actually does the listening.

The state of independent R&B, volume 21

There is a whole tier of contemporary soul music that operates entirely outside the major-label machinery — released independently or through small labels, discovered through playlists and Bandcamp and word of mouth, and often better than what the majors are putting out. This mix is a snapshot of that tier at a particular moment, and its value is precisely that it does not repeat what everyone else is playing.

The common thread is texture. These are records built on warm keys, live-feeling drums, generous reverb and vocals mixed close enough that you hear breath. Where mainstream R&B has trended toward sparseness, this world has gone the other way — toward density, chord changes, and arrangements that reward a second listen.

What to listen for

A few names to hold onto. Naomi Sharon ("Can We Do This Over") is the OVO Sound signee with the Sade-adjacent low register. Gaidaa ("Fly Away") is a Dutch-Sudanese singer whose writing is unusually literary. Halle — of Chloë x Halle — appears with "back and forth," a reminder of how much range she has outside the duo.

Full Crate shows up twice, with Shae Universe on "Stay" and Auryln on "Just Another Day" — the Dutch producer has quietly become one of the connective figures in this scene. Braxton Cook with NNAVY on "Weekend" brings a jazz saxophonist's harmonic instincts to a straightforward R&B setting.

Durand Bernarr ("Alone Again," with Ballad) is one of the most technically gifted vocalists working, with a background singing behind Erykah Badu. Amaria takes on Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" and makes it unrecognisable in the best way.

The deeper cuts — Loie, ïnnü, Bathe, Jamilah Barry, Tia Gordon, Liza, THEHONESTGUY — are the reason to keep the playlist rather than cherry-pick it.

Sixty tracks. Put it on for the afternoon and note down what stops you.

Go deeper

The best way to use a mix like this is as a shortlist. Pick three names you did not know, go to their albums, and repeat next month.

For the infrastructure of this scene: Bandcamp remains where most of these artists make their actual money, and following them there tends to surface releases before playlists do. Labels worth watching include Foreign Exchange Music, Innovative Leisure and Rhythm Section International.

Historically, this lane descends fairly directly from the Soulquarians era — D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun, Bilal's 1st Born Second — and from the UK broken-beat scene around Bugz in the Attic and 4hero. Both are worth the trip backwards.

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