NATASHA WATTS is a respected UK soul stylist, her work well-known to and revered by soul collectors with a passion for quality sounds . Via her collaborations with people like DJ Spen and the Cool Million team and on through her own solo catalogue (4 albums to date), said collectors know that her name is synonymous with classy, contemporary soul and they point to her 2016 Sed Soul collection, ‘2nd Time Around’ as a particular career high spot – a high spot that is now bettered by the lady’s brand new set, ‘Music Is My Life’.
The arrival of the new LP was flagged up just last month with the release of the single, ‘Brighter Days’. It’s a lovely optimistic thing and we said then that a more “up” tune would be hard to find. Time and repeated plays have done nothing to make us change our minds! The great news is that the 11 tracker that is ‘Music Is My Life’ offers plenty more of the same soulful optimism. Tunes like ‘Right The Wrong’, ‘I Do, I Did, I’m Done’ and ‘Home’ will still be being played out at parties and soul events come year end.
But ‘Music Is My Life’ isn’t stuck in one gear. The album opens with ‘I Am Me’. This is a gentle outing offering a warm welcome to proceedings. ‘Not What You Think’ is tougher, almost funky while ‘Feels Like Sunshine’ has a Latin undertow – perfect for some salsa strutting. Then there’s two lovely ballads, ‘Part Of My Life’ and ‘Goodbye’. The former is a sweet, sophisticated soul tune while the latter is a simpler, starker affair which, as it builds, allows the beauty and power of Ms Watts’ voice to shine through. As it’s ‘Goodbye’ it makes a most satisfying finale to ‘Music Is My Life’, and never has an album title been more appropriate – clearly music, soul specifically, is Natasha’s life.
The initial copies of ‘Music Is My Life’ come in really clever packaging (see above) which will ensure the initial release will become a proper collectors’ item. Find out an awful lot more @ https://www.natashawattsmusic.com/
(BB) 4/5
