Phoenix Martins

Hometown: East London
Lineup: Phoenix Martins
For fans of: Aaliyah, Shola Ama, Lana Del Rey
Key track: ‘Heart Strings’
See her live: Servant Jazz Quarters, Dalston, 25 June
Connect: Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter | YouTube

Coloured by a love of Aaliyah and Springsteen – no, really – young Goldsmiths student, Phoenix Martins’s debut single, free download ‘Heart Strings‘, purrs classic pop but with a distinctly urban flavour.

Tipping a hat to trap with a yearning string arrangement, intermittently trickling hi-hats and chunky subsea synth blips, the Nigerian born, East London resident cranks her caramel slick vocals up to slinky levels scantly heard since those UK garage soulsters of old, Sweet Female Attitude and Shola Ama first roamed the charts.

Although ‘Heart Strings’ formed out of a fracturing relationship, Martins hasn’t allowed the wound to fester, her despondent swoons, ”I believe in you and me, maybe this is destiny” rolling into the solemn fatalist sigh, “I gotta let you go”, even more lacerating over a rasping snare pattern and distantly shimmering guitar riff. There’s a certain whiff of Lana Del Rey’s icy observational style at play here, while her deeper, more bluesy vocal textures lend a trad-soul vibe, brushing fingertips with Nina Simone, to the stirring verses.

Having worked with Joe Fields and Nick Carter ( Mystery Jets, Neptunes) on her debut, the rising starlet’s pulling power clearly isn’t going unnoticed. Check out ‘Heart Strings’s stark, emotive accompanying visuals below and you’ll soon see why we’re all of a fluster.