These days I find myself yearning for new music and what better way to share my findings than to conform and do a Friday music update.

When I say I yearn for new music, I don’t necessarily mean new tracks, hot off the press. Just new to me. 

I wanted to have a theme within these Friday updates, something to tie all the music together, be it genre, title, artist. You get my vibe.

So for this first instalment, I’d like to introduce you to some of my favourite black indie Brits.

Friend of replay, Dréa has been working on new music. Since our interview she’s blossomed and even fulfilled one of her 5 year plan points. She opened for saga Faye in December, and on New Year’s Day she released her latest single, Why?. A nostalgic indie rock track about broken friendships and the pain of growing apart.

She’ll be performing live on January 28th at The Waiting Room in London. I recommend going to watch her.

Newcomer Raynor has been all over my fyp with snippets of his tracks. On Friday 9th January he released his much anticipated track, Brighter Than Before. When I say I’m obsessed, it would be an understatement. His track has a very nostalgic 2008-2010 sound, I could definitely envision it in the background of a scene in skins or some girls. Staples of my early adolescence, which is what this track evokes.

When I first found the track on Spotify I was one of his 121 monthly listeners, in a week he has soared to 12k monthly listeners (30k when this is being edited) and I love this for him.

He’ll be performing live on March 14th at The Met Lounge in Peterborough alongside L.Yton and Jxyah.

Master Peace has been on my radar for a while now, having first found him with his track start you up, I was so excited to see talented black artists breaking into the UK indie space. I’m sure it’s bee happening for a long time, but I’m newly divorced from pop and have only now discovered this space in the music scene bubbling away.

Back to Master Peace, he’s been promoting his upcoming EP Stupid Kids, with a track featuring indie sweetheart Declan McKenna (Fuck It Up is out today). For this I’m excited and have been tuned into his single release Good Times, featuring the title track, Spin The Block and There’s No More Underground. It’s such a fun mix of young black vernacular and that traditional indie sound, aka, music produced with real instruments. The Brits are really bringing back picking up a guitar and rocking out. 

This list wouldn’t be complete without my Queen Rachel Chinouriri. I’ve been obsessed with her for a year now, and I’ve been loving her features, Romeo with PinkPantheress and Follow Excitement with Rizzle Kicks. She just has this presence that demands to be noticed, bringing a certain je ne sais quoi to her projects that makes me want to shimmy a shoulder when I hear her voice. 

I can’t wait to see what these artists will share with the world this year and the heights they will reach.