Kristen Sinclair

Gemma Bradley does a little bit of everything. The Across the Line alumnus now spends her Sunday nights on the Radio 1 airwaves showcasing the freshest new sounds on BBC Music Introducing. Also a musician and singer-songwriter in her own right, her blend of poppy melodies, R&B grooves and signature soulful drawl have helped her carve out a unique position in the Irish music scene. Upcoming single ‘Better’ is a departure from the sugary ‘Obsessed’, leaning into her love of R&B and featuring collaborations with local jazz drummer David Lyttle and Dublin rapper Jamel Franklin. Gemma tells Dig With It about her creative process, straddling two sides of the music industry and why vanilla is a misunderstood ice-cream flavour… Gemma Bradley gets vocal What are your earliest memories of music? Being in the car with my mum listening to different kinds of records – Amy Winehouse, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bob Marley too, Macy Gray. That shaped a lot of the stuff that I began to write later on....

This review originally appeared in the now-defunct altmusicbox in 2016. Source: albumoftheyear.org Throughout the late noughties and early 2010s, Rihanna followed a pattern of pretty much releasing an album a year; usually nothing ground-breaking but an arsenal of sure-fire top ten hits and big name collabs. Rated R and Loud are undisputed pop gems, but it felt like a while since Rihanna had given fans something unexpected, something she perhaps couldn’t rest assured that they’d enjoy, but instead positively devour: Anti is just that. Following a three year break – the Barbadian singer’s longest since Unapologetic in 2012 – and a label change from Def Jam to Roc Nation, Anti sees a departure from club-based tracks to a more poppy, soulful neo-R&B sound. Another notable difference from Fenty’s previous work is her more active involvement in the lyrics and production of her latest long player, recruiting an impressive roster of producers, from Timbaland to Boi-1da.  ...