Released - October 2021
Label - Independent
After leaving us holding tightly to what little material we had, Ayeisha Raquel at last truly enters the arena with debut single ‘Starving’ a collaboration with premier spiritual jazz/beats architect Intalekt. This naturally perfect pairing provides our first taste of what will undoubtedly be a stellar EP with ‘Starving’ the first step towards inescapable success for all involved.
Ayeisha Raquel possesses the mythical ability to perfectly articulate in song the intersection of love and lust, wherein one wants so to please their lover, through a devastating collision of desire and depth.
“You’re starving me,
I’m hungry, I’m famished, I’m dying.
Why are you starving me?
I’m aching, I'm hollow, I'm crying…”
‘Starving’ portrays a vampiric and biblical hunger which Intalekt deftly articulates through alluring chord changes that swell with heady sexuality as cascading piano runs return us to the necessary innocence of love. Sparks fly from the track’s first moments, with every subsequent bar itself a slice of musical perfection. Ayeisha’s already legendary glissando runs slowly down your spine into your subconscious like seemingly casual touches and glances that remain just a little too long. Vocally she is an effortless talent, startlingly subtle whilst consistently showcasing absolute virtuosity, further exemplified by Intalekt - himself the instrumental equivalent of this skillset.
Oh for that drip-fed sparkling conversation - truly the precursor to the sincerest of shared experience, perfectly articulated by a singer who is clearly no stranger to the hedonism of desire. Whilst I try to avoid grandiose statements, I am of the firm opinion that in the case of Ayeisha Raquel, not since Jill Scott have I heard a vocal possessing such wisdom, ability, and beauty. The latest in a long line of homegrown talent, she feels defiantly in the face of life’s relentless emotional restrictions, ever affirming our wickedly addictive and irrepressible human natures, and few other artists have inspired such musical anticipation within me this year.