KIZZY CRAWFORD

Being half-Welsh myself, I often have a soft spot for the bands and artists coming out of the valleys and the coastlines. I was never language-conscious enough to become bi-lingual though, but it’s a skill that Aberaeron singer-songwriter Kizzy Crawford has mastered.

Her neo-soul blasts any preconceptions you might have had about the sometimes harsh-sounding Welsh language out of the water. If you think double consonants and rolling letters are the stuff of musical nightmares, then have a listen to Crawford. You’re likely to change your mind.

That being said, her recent single ‘Shout Out’ is sung entirely in English. Beginning with a hushed acoustic guitar and evoking the early career of Corinne Bailey Rae and later Martina Topley Bird, Roberts’ soulful voice drifts along before the song becomes a full-blown jazz-soul experience.

Joyful and passionate in equal measures, ‘Shout Out’ deftly shows off the bags of talent in the eighteen-year-old singer’s bones. It’s a brilliant introduction to what Crawford does best, and will leave you gagging for some of her beautiful Welsh-language tunes. Watch this space: it could be a crossover smash.

Words by Eugenie Johnson

Tipped by Jill Guthrie from When The Gramophone Rings