🎧 Approved: Phoenix James

Alabama-born, Miami-raised and New York-based artist-producer Phoenix James makes alt-R&B that feels genuinely her own; with a journey so distinct, it’s only natural that her sound would parallel.

New single ‘Hold On’ is the opener on upcoming EP ‘Teeth’ and its first real statement. The production is elastic and deliberate - a warped, rubbery bassline that stabs slightly off-centre, drum fragments drifting in and out of negative space like a pause for half-formed thoughts. It shouldn’t feel as smooth as it does, but that’s the trick: the unease is baked in without ever breaking the surface. 

At the center is James’ voice: low-slung and thick with implication. She doesn’t reach upward for clarity; instead, she settles into the weight of each phrase. There’s a hushed grain to it, that makes even the smallest inflection feel deliberate.

The song is a plea; a fight to save a relationship that feels like it’s slipping further through your fingers by the minute, and the resistance to letting go even when love starts to feel foreign. “There's vulnerability in the fight”, says James, “and a quiet hope in the asking”. 

On this evidence, ‘Teeth’ can't come soon enough.

🎧 Watch the video for ‘Hold On’ below