APRIL 2025 ISSUE
A sneaky peek of just some of what is in the April 2025 issue – OUT NOW!
ESTELLE
Remarkably last year marked the 20th anniversary of West London girl Estelle’s debut album The 18th Day, a release that saw the young rapper/singer dubbed the UK’s answer to Lauryn Hill and earnt her a MOBO Best Newcomer gong to boot. Within a few years, she had exploded on the world stage, thanks to a little tune called American Boy that turned in a genuine monster.
And she hasn’t stopped since, collaborating with everyone from Nas to Janelle Monae and De La Soul, branching out into fashion and acting, and relocating to the sunny climes of Los Angeles. Now three released singles towards a mooted new album project, Miss Swaray talks about her exciting new direction and just how far she’s come…
DREEMTIME
In these unsettled times, with Anglo-American relations at the highest levels all-too-frequently bathed in an unflattering spotlight, it’s a relief to work in an industry where talent, creativity and mutual respect… well, let’s say trumps the negativity, shall we? So, while Vice President J.D. Halfwit and Co-President Musk splatter far and wide their unwanted seeds of division, let we in Music Land instead celebrate what good British and American people can achieve together when they’re not utter morons.
Echoes regulars will no doubt recall when, at the end of 2021, we featured Dreemtime – the all-British/US-resident trio led by songwriter/musician/producer Klive D’Farley and featuring essential co-conspirators, guitarist Jesse Graham [of Freakpower fame] and producer/bassist Paul Ogunsalu – on our cover…
NATTALIE RIZE
Nattali Rize’s emergence was explosive, to say the least. It was Generations Will Rize, shared with Kabaka Pyramid – later to appear on the New Era Frequency EP – that lit the fuse, and 2017’s Rebel Frequency which confirmed the Australian warrior queen’s arrival alongside all the other exciting talents – Protoje, Chronixx and Jah9 included – busily changing the face of reggae music at the time.
A follow-up album has been eagerly awaited for years – Liberatewas finally released on March 7 – and doesn’t disappoint. Nattali sounds as uncompromising and committed as ever, whilst the track listing includes former singles Fear & Dread, Indestructible, featuring Kumar and the title track, a collaboration with Judy Mowatt. The two women met for the first time when recording it but the ease with which they trade verses hints at a far deeper connection…
TRISTAN
The term frou-frou, you may or may not be aware, is a late 19thcentury French expression, coined in relation to the rustling noise made by women’s silk and satin dresses as their wearers moved around. Nowadays we use it to describe anything with a bit of frill and decoration, often of a fussy and extravagant nature. The Dutch soul, funk and jazz band Tristan, meanwhile, have decided the term would also make a great title for their eighth album, released this spring ahead of an extensive European and UK tour that’s to span throughout the year. Does this mean it is a ‘fussy’ and ‘extravagant’ project? Or even rustle when it moves? Band leader [and keysman, co-songwriter] Coen Molenaar, is keen to explain.
“It all started with our working title for the album, which was ‘Four Four’ – it being our eighth album and two fours are eight, right?”