Forget Me Not’ is the debut album from hotly tipped soul singer Harleighblu, a true rising star of UK music. Nottingham resident Harleighblu is possessed of a beguiling classic soul voice with an arrestingly rich, edgy and charismatic delivery. Her drive, belief and passion for music have seen her following in the footsteps of the likes of Jake Bugg, Liam Bailey and Natalie Duncan and rising through the ranks of the thriving local grass-roots scene.
The official first single, “Play Me” dropped on 29th July, and has gained major mainstream and specialist media support including daytime 1Xtra play from Trevor Nelson to add to MistaJam (1Xtra), Don Letts (6Music), Nemone (6Music), Craig Charles (6Music), DJ Mag, Echoes mag and many more.
The “Play Me” single follows upfront track, “Enough Now”, which sneaked out on a vinyl only EP for Record Store Day in April and took on a life of its own. Picked up for airplay on BBC 1Xtra by MistaJam, who also interviewed Harleighblu on air, the fresh soul song sparked an immense listener reaction and went on to be crowned MistaJam’s ‘Jam Hot’ Track of the Week. Further support came from BBC Introducing, Don Letts (BBC 6Music), Ras Kwame (Choice FM) and Craig Charles (BBC 6Music), and blogs including URB, Soul Bounce and Afro Punk. The videos for “Enough Now” and “Play Me” have had over 40,000 YouTube hits.
That one initial upfront track also led the likes of Shy FX, Chase & Status, Eats Everything and 16bit (Chase & Status’s MTA Records) to contact Harleighblu, seeking her vocals for future collaborations.
Thanks to numerous gigs and festivals, support slots for acts including Liam Bailey, and early championing from the likes of BBC Introducing and legendary rapper Rodney P (with whom she often collaborates both live and on record), Harleighblu came to the attention of Tru Thoughts A&R Robert Luis, who likens the buzz of discovering Harleighblu to the way he felt on first signing Bonobo, Quantic or Alice Russell. He recalls, “Rodney P tipped me off that Joe was working with an amazing singer. On hearing Harleighblu’s voice on the demos, I was very excited… It had the hallmarks of a classic soul album, with the added influences of hip hop and artists like Jill Scott and Erykah Badu, but then filtered through a distinctive singer and songwriter who has this fresh, intense spark.”
iTunes smarturl.it/forgetmenot
Amazon bit.ly/forgetmenot_amz
Bandcamp: harleighblu.bandcamp.com/album/forget-me-not
Direct from TT bit.ly/forgetmenot_etch
www.harleighblu.com
