Manchester has a rich soul heritage.
Back in the 60s, the Twisted Wheel would help give birth to the Northern Soul phenomenon. Remaining a hub for lovers of black American music, the city would later repeat the track with the house sounds of the Hacienda helping to give birth to rave culture.
So Josephine sits in a healthy lineage. A natural performer, the singer's smooth tones and gutsy feel recall gospel greats such as Mahalia Jackson while her songwriting touches on a raft of global influences. Growing up in a musical household, Josephine was surrounded by the sounds of everyone from Joni Mitchell to Bob Marley.
“I learned a lot from their story-telling techniques and the more complex rhythmical style they used,” she recalled recently. “Reggae taught me to feel the music and that writing a song could be different to the way I imagined before.”
Now the results are in. Josephine's debut album 'Portrait' is set to be released next Monday (October 8th) but ClashMusic has obtained an exclusive stream.
Listen to it below.– – –
'Portrait' is set to be released on October 8th.
