Andreya Triana - Giants (Deluxe Edition) (2015)

Andreya Triana is an experimental and self-taught singer and songwriter originally hailing from South East London. Her husky voice is reminiscent of predecessors Lauryn Hill and Cassandra Wilson. Her music is of the moody soul variety more popular with her fellow 21st century European artists than their American counterparts. Triana moved to Worcester in the West Midlands at 14. At 17 she started doing an open-mike night at a local music venue where the owner introduced her to a collective of musicians, with whom she formed a group called Bootis. While studying for a degree in music technology in Leeds, Andreya decided to re-form Bootis with new members and a new multi-genre sound. Soon, her love of improvisation would birth her Freeflo Sessions -- a one-woman show using a sampler to loop vocals, percussive sounds, and beats live. She toured extensively with her Freeflo Sessions, and as a result of the creative strength she displayed in the show, in 2006 she was selected to participate in the Red Bull Music Academy in Australia, where she further developed her style for improvisation and secured links with some of the best producers and musicians on the music scene. Multiple collaborations ensued daily at the Academy, notably "Tea Leaf Dancers," a collaboration with hip-hop producer Flying Lotus (released on Warp Records), which caught the attention of Ninja Tune stalwart Simon Green, also known as Bonobo. He featured her on his Black Sands album and then offered to produce her first full-length effort, Lost Where I Belong. The 2010 debut was a well-received set of smoky ballads and well-produced midtempo soul, all with a distinctive retro feel.