SLL Soul News - 29th July 2013

1. Terri Walker announced her split from 'Lady' this week - the collab with Nicole Wray - after just one album released earlier this year. Following our rave review of the long-player, this news is met with some genuine sadness, as their output as a duo was pure soul gold. The only silver lining is that Terri is leaving to work on her solo album and has apparently been in the studio with Damon Albarn. :-) (via FACT)

2. Following Daley's previous excursion with Jessie J on their cover of 'Remember Me', the big-haired Mancunian soulboy dropped his new EP as a free download via his website this week, a prelude as the world waits for his full-length album 'Days & Nights'. Not satisfied with lavishing his fans with new music, a few days later Daley also dropped another unmistakable cracker in the shape of 'Broken'. It's more of what you've come to expect, so it'll be interesting to see if the album dishes up a few more surprises.

3. To mark the 600th show on Australia's 3RRR-FM radio station, Ennio Styles has just unleashed 'Stylin' 600', a beautiful selection of insane beats and pieces spanning everything from gospel to techno, available for entirely free download from 2nd August. And if you don't take my word for it, you can surely trust in the good words of the preacher himself, Mr. Gilles Peterson: "Some great shit here! Amazing work as usual." Preview it below.

Lady - Lady (Truth & Soul)

For years producers across the land have sought the soulful Holy Grail – to reproduce and reinterpret the sounds made famous by the Motown record label. A true feat if one can achieve it, as it means hitting a chord which envelopes the true spirit of funk and soul.

For some that can mean harking back to truly organic, analog production, for others it’s felt in the very fabric of the music – the feeling, the energy, the hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck moment. Well I’m hugely excited to report that this is an accomplishment achieved by Lady, the new collaboration between long-time songstress Terri Walker and Nicole Wray, with production from Truth & Soul.

The album has a number of different vibes, with ‘Lady’ shooting like a bullet from a late-70s funk floor, ‘Karma’ offering a slow string-led brass ballad, and ‘Good Lovin’’ sprinkling some disco flavour into the mix.

A fantastic, standard-setting nu soul release. Essential.

'Lady' is out now on Truth & Soul. Check the album sampler below and download it now. | truthandsoulrecords.com