www.mixmag.net[[1L]] july 2012

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Stunning voice set to turnpreconceptions inside out

who amber Jolene, sublime 32-year-old singer/songwriter from LondonSoundS Like wistful soul, spiked withtracey thorns

Amber jolene rAdiAtes depth and character. much like her voice. Whether singing reggae with jazz bands or live on stage with madness, her vocals transcend boundaries. this is truer still when it comes to house music, where an expectation to “look a certain way on stage or on a record sleeve” still dominates the industry. “sure it helps to have a look or style about you,” laughs Amber,“but, reassuringly, i haven’t done any videos so people must just like my voice.” she’s achieved success with myomi’s ‘sun in my eyes’ (the mj Cole mix notching one million youtube views). on mowgli’s ‘back in the day’, Amber harks back to her dj and rave days for inspiration. “it’s old-skool, with a hint of rhythmn on the loose’s ‘break of dawn’ about it,” she explains. she’s principled when it comes to song writing, which stands her apart from vocalists who sing generic lip gloss lyrics. “i like to find out what state tunes were written in, sober or otherwise, to get the vibes right,” Amber admits. ‘the Hang track’ with timo Garcia showcases her minimalist approach, with echoes of tracey thorn and róisín murphy, making her debut lP an enticing prospect. she also quite fancies working with tiefschwarz, penning songs for emeli sandé, ousting the ‘boyish clique’ within production circles and blogging about restaurants. And that’s just for starters. Phil DuDman

‘The hang Track’ is out on hed Kandi this summer

Amber’s toP 3 tHinGsAbout eAtinG outRoaSt dinneR My forte is the humble roast dinner. Every Sunday, me and my girlfriends hunt down the best roast potatoes in town.cRitic’S choice My other half used to write a restaurant column, which meant we got to go all over the place and eat great meals for free!FuSSPot This has made me very fussy though, which isn’t a bad thing, but I have been known to send things back, which can be embarrassing!