Sophya - Malha (Self Release) [Soul Jazz]

Sofia Lamelas aka Sophya, is a Portuguese soul jazz spirit with a curious musical nature, who is now resident in London - a good base to explore her fondness for paying her dues to the twentieth-century black music greats - whose shoulders she stand on, whilst experimenting with bending those classic vibes into new, more progressive forms.

For her latest single “Malha” - my favourite cut from her new Fate EP, she's reverted back to her native Portuguese to convey this tale of women and their connection to Mother Earth. To assist this earth-attuned tale through the speakers, she's enlisted some crack London jazz players: Eddie Lee on keys, Matthew May on bass and Kian Cardenas on synths, to give her low-gravity vocal approach a suitably ethereal instrumental cushion, and trust me, these boys know their instruments.

A softly bumping synth loop sets a futuristic path from the off, before the bass tentatively creeps into the soundscape, paving the way for Sophya to wordlessly enter the picture before embarking on her softly spun, yet affecting tale of Gaian bonds. The quartet then push off into cosmic vocal jazz territory; the piano twinkling like distant constellations; the bass locked into a patient, emotion-elevating refrain to help anchor Sophya's enchanting, spirit-like vocal delivery, lest her frequencies float into the ether. But hold tight, the quartet somehow manage to nimbly slip into sedate jazz fusion territory, each player subtly stretching out within the song's astral soul shell, eschewing ego to maintain the song's velvety texture and tender tones, whilst nudging at the boundaries of ambient jazz.

Come for this ambient vocal jazz gem, but make sure you stay for the rest of the more straight-ahead vocal jazz joys.

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Playlist Companion

Find Sophya in the Slow Jazz Playlist.