L-Marie - Street Heat Vol.1: Highly Flammable Material EP / Liza Heat Vol.2: Rookie of the Year

Scotland's newest rising soul-songbird L-Marie has exceptional songwriting skills and a fresh, soulful vibe

Album Review by Ian Brandon | 17 Mar 2006
Label: Soul Clap
Scotland's newest rising soul-songbird L-Marie has exceptional songwriting skills and a fresh, soulful vibe - you can only expect bigger things to come. She has a strong delivery, her soaring vocals infused with heavy hip-hop beats on Soul Clap Records' 'Liza Heat Vol.2' mixtape album. This volume of L-Marie's collaborations and remixes include the track Keep On, which blends her vocals over the distinctive, Willie Hutch-sampling Three-6-Mafia instrumental of Stay Fly. Soul Clap Records' beatmakers and L-Marie deliver some fresh sounds and are making headway for standout UK talent. With influences of Aretha, Marvin Gaye and Jill Scott, L-Marie has performed with De La Soul, Faith Evans, and Will Smith at last year's Urban Music Festival. Her next release 'Street Heat Vol. 1, Highly Flammable Material' on the Grimy Sole Productions label features productions by Freakmenoovers' Dema, Rich Kid and DJ Vex, emphasizing the point of bouncy, smooth R&B, with an easy nu-soul vibe. They don't quite match the more street-sounding productions on her mixtape release, but they do showcase her vocal skills. [Ian Brandon]
Out now http://www.l-marie.com