Yazmin Lacey
Voice Notes
Own Your Own/Believe
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East London born Yazmin Lacey first appeared with 2017’s EP Black Moon. Such was the quality of that material that some serious music business hitters came to be hip to her undeniable talent. A place on Brownswood Bubblers, Gilles Peterson’s creative mentor programme, beckoned and then two further EPs (When The Sun Dips 90 Degrees and Morning Matters) appeared thereafter. In the intervening time she was also asked to contribute to the reworkings of classic Blue Note Records songs—clearly her dulcet tones struck the right chord with plenty of people.
Each of those EPs offered an intriguing take on neo-soul, with a consistent musical template and vibe throughout. The major difference between those early projects and her full-blown debut album Voice Notes is a much broader musical palette. Voice Notes is a nimble and winning summation of the numerous strains of Black British music, as befits someone raised by music-loving Caribbean parents who grew up listening to reggae, lover’s rock and soca, as well as the pop and American rap music that inevitably crept into the household.
The overarching themes of the album are self-discovery and the search for peace of mind, both of which are explored adeptly by Lacey’s frank lyrical touch. On standout track “Where Did You Go?” she asks the titular question of herself, rather than her lover as might be more usual: “Into fire, my desire led me here / How do I return to myself?” And the titles to “Bad Company” and “Fool’s Gold” are self-explanatory enough to further underline those themes.
The music, though, covers such a broad range of styles and they are knitted together by the production of Dave Okumu, Melo-Zed and Craigie Dodds and the vocals of Lacey. Given the breadth of styles included, it is hardly surprising that new aspects of Lacey’s voice are discovered along the way. There’s a sense that she is beginning to stretch herself and nowhere is that more obvious than on the delightful “Sea Glass,” which is as delicately beautiful as the title suggests. Here she slips up into her higher vocal reaches and in doing so, sends shivers down spines.
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That previously mentioned array of musical styles comes complete with hat tips to Lover’s Rock on “From a Lover,” an ‘80s groove that Loose Ends might be proud of (“Sign and Signal”) and the thunderous reggae bass of “Tomorrow’s Child,” all the while maintaining the jazzy, neo soul vibe that dominated her EPs on the slinky somnambulant “Eye to Eye.” That all of the variety convinces is testament to the combined efforts of the team involved, but primarily to the voice of Lacey. And what a voice it is.
Notable Tracks: “Bad Company” | “Sea Glass” | “Sign and Signal” | “Where Did You Go”
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