This speaks volumes of the year RAYE’s having: the same night her single Escapism won Best Independent Track at the AIM Awards, she was also headlining the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Heritage Orchestra and 30-piece youth choir Flames Collective. From number one singles to Mercury Prize nominations, the past 12 months have been a wild ride for the South London singer-songwriter born Rachel Keen.
Indeed, since severing ties with Polydor back in July 2021, the 25-year-old has decisively reframed her career, moving from featured vocalist at the mercy of major label A&Rs to an independent artist firmly in control of her own destiny. February’s debut My 21st Century Blues offers a searing account of her path to this point, setting stories of addiction, sexual violence and anxiety to a vivid bricolage of jazz, soul, R&B, hip hop and EDM.
