Wrong Or Right

We say

A more or less permanent fixture in our own Ones To Watch section of the magazine ever since the sublime, Dave Okumu-produced Spirit Fade appeared online last spring, London-based singer-songwriter Kwabs (pronounced 'Kwobs') has cropped up in several tips-for-2014 lists from MTV to Spotify and 1Xtra. And rightly so; that rich but strangely vulnerable baritone is impossible to ignore. The title cut on the four-track Wrong Or Right EP sets Kwabs' deep soul vocal against the widescreen synthscapes of producer and RotD favourite SOHN to powerful effect. A glance at radio support so far for Kwabs - MistaJam, Zane Lowe, Jo Whiley, Huw Stephens, Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac among many others - demonstrates an appeal that cuts across genres, and from specialist into daytime. Wrong Or Right has been been a Record of the Week for 1Xtra and was added to Radio 1's INMWT list last week. Anyone, like us, who missed out on his vastly oversubscribed Wilton's Music Hall before Christmas might want to try their luck on January 30 for MTV's Brand New for 2014 show at Islington Town Hall. High quality stuff.

Contact

Label: Lucie Balcombe / Jack Melhuish, Atlantic Records
Publishing: Sony ATV / Temperamental / Prescription Songs / Kobalt
Radio: Mel Rudder, Atlantic Records
Press/Online: Taponeswa Mavunga, Atlantic Records
TV: Briony Gaffer, Atlantic Records
Club: James Jackson, Listen Up
Live: Obi Asika, Echo Location
Management: Rob Swaden, 333 Management