D'New Faces

Reading the excellent blog The Couch Sessions I see that D'Nell have finally released a debut album called "1st Magic" (on the BBE label.) Don't feel too unhip and out of the loop if you haven't heard of them, I wouldn't have either if I hadn't got their 2003 single "This Thing" on some cheapo NuSoul compilation I bought in Paris last year. D'Nell are the British duo of singer Ellie Hajee (who's a bit tasty judging by the photo above) and programmer/producer Dan Jones who describes their music thus: “We’re a lot more soulful than a lot of electronic English music. We’re not just trying to stick a Rhodes, a guitar and a croony vocal over the top and pass it off as Soul music. Our music is about contrast – the rough and the smooth, the trainer and the high heel.”

I haven't heard the whole album yet but if it's all as good as "This Thing" it should be a treat. I guess I'd call this "electro-soul," built around a hip hop-ish drum loop with a dark, throbbing baseline. Ellie has a really sweet voice too. You can find out more about them at their official website (no sound files of the album there yet but you can hear samples at Juno or the iTunes Store.)

[Download]
This Thing - D'Nell