October 11, 2019
Harleighblu & Bluestaeb
Harleighblu heard Bluestaeb's music for the first time in London's Jazz Cafe in 2016 and approached him to work on an album shortly after that. The multinational duo decided to search for new ways to express their common love for uncompromised hip-hop and R&B. Bluestaeb's soulful approach to beat making complements Harleighblu's performance perfectly as she stakes her claim on the neo soul and hip-hop territory she always identified with as an artist. Speaking about the collaboration Bluestaeb says: "When I got the first demo recordings from Harleighblu, I was blown away. I've worked with multiple singers before, but this time I felt that somebody finally really knew how to handle my beats properly and turn them into songs." Their debut project "She" achieves a distinctive sound that merges old school aesthetics with a new school attitude and organic instrumentation, progressive neo soul and beat heavy hip-hop, whilst Harleighblu's unique vocals push through the sonic boundaries of R&B. Harleighblu introduced herself in 2013 with the charismatic, beat-heavy soul of her Tru Thoughts debut LP "Forget Me Not", which was championed by 1xtra's Mistajam and BBC 6 Music's Don Letts. Since then she has not looked back, garnering critical acclaim for her unique style from the likes of Complex, Dummy, The Line Of Best Fit and Clash to name but a few. She has performed at prestigious festivals such as Glastonbury, Bestival, Kendal Calling, Boomtown and Gilles Peterson's Worldwide festival. Hailed as an up and coming 'queen of soul' with references to Nina Simone, Lauryn Hill and Amy Winehouse, Harleighblu's signature sound has matured into a frank, self-possessed voice that pulls no punches and makes no apologies. Bringing us honest, feminine, yet unrepentant lyrical touches and establishing herself as one of the UK's most promising young artists. On the other hand, Bluestaeb made his name through his releases via German tastemaker label Jakarta Records, where he released alongside Kaytranada, Ta-Ku and Mura Masa. His solo efforts 'Rodalquilar' (2015) and 'Everything Is Always a Process' (2018) and his collaboration project "LIT - Lost In Translation" with rapper JuJu Rogers have been internationally praised for their warm characteristic sound receiving airplays on Soulection, BBC 1, Rinse.FM and many more. His works have amassed more than 20 million streams and Bluestaeb has played shows and festival all over Europe, including Melt Festival and splash! Festival.