“Lost Where I Belong”, the compelling, debut album from British soul singer Andreya Triana, is likely to shake up the complacent establishment of the neo-soul world.
Neo-soul, a genre which has a tendency to fall prey to predictability, can often be represented by a revolving door of up and coming soul singers strutting their stuff over the same, groovy karaoke track. Too often some decent songwriting gets plugged into the neo-soul production formula and an album springs out which is pleasing to listen to, but not very artistically relevant. Similarly, neo-soul’s first cousin, downtempo/lounge, suffers from an inverse ailment. Being a genre occupied by slick producers and DJs, downtempo/lounge music is never short on glossy production quality and infectious grooves, but it’s rare to find a well-written song.
Scratch the surface of Andreya Triana’s “Lost Where I Belong” and you’ll find producer Simon Green, a.k.a. “Bonobo”. To the observant listener, Bonobo’s production work on this album is high-tech in nature and rife with sampled drums, bells, toy pianos, and pen clicks. It’s assembly, however, is so skillfully done, and with such clarity of purpose, that you could almost mistake it for being a polished live band. The album’s first single “A Town Called Obsolete” comes complete with a stick tapping count in from the virtual drummer, and features a live horn section playing a Stax-esque line which drives the chorus and adds a retro-vibe to the track. Live strings, upright bass, and flute add to the sophistication of the arrangements, helping keep the album’s texture and moodiness consistent.
Scratch the surface again, and you’ll find Ninja Tune label-mate Fin Greenall, a.k.a. “Fink”, an exceptional and highly sought after UK singer/songwriter who has written for the likes of John Legend and Mexican pop phenom Ximena Sariñana. Greenall adds his subtly funky guitar on several tracks and scores a writing credit on two of the album’s nine cuts.
The bottom line is that this is quite a team that Ninja Tune has assembled, and they obviously knew what they were doing as the result is nothing short of spectacular. The soundscapes which Bonobo creates act as a perfect frame for the hauntingly soulful quality of Triana’s vocal. With a voice which is similar in tonality to Macy Gray’s, Triana’s controlled vibrato and aesthetic taste put her into a class which is more artistic than pop-centric. The voice often emerges like a ghost from the shadows of these moody tracks, vacillating between a desperate, soulful vibe and a warm, breathy, dream-like quality.
The album also benefits from Triana’s lyrics which are as well crafted as Bonobo’s song productions. Simultaneously introspective and impressionist, the words paint abstract emotional pictures which outline stories of self-uncertainty and falling out of love, leaving the details for the listener to fill in and personalize.
Ending up somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Massive Attack, Andreya Triana’s debut album builds from a solid foundation of soulful songwriting and continues on to include artistic, skillful production courtesy of Bonobo which all perfectly align to highlight the expertly delivered vocal of the up and coming Triana. This album delivers in spades from the dreamy, music-box opener “Draw The Stars” through to a grittier, more authentic rendition of classic soul than Corrine Bailey Rae could muster up with “Up In Fire”. The beautiful, melancholy of “X” leaves the album off where it began and rounds out an impressive work which is sure to gather an admiring crowd of followers.
While “Lost Where I Belong” may very well be too aesthetically tasteful and edgy to break into the mainstream, I wouldn’t be surprised to see this album get a nod or two come awards time. Andreya Triana’s debut is currently near the top of my list for soul album of the year, and a must have for anyone with even a passing interest in current soul music.