R&B – Queen City Sounds and Art

NESYA’s “PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG” dissolves any lines between pop R&B, darkwave, post-punk and electronic dance music. The video shows the artist looking like a subversive figure broadcasting with equipment that intentionally distorts and partly vertically pixellates her image. It’s the perfect aesthetic for a song that turns attempts at oppression and narrow othering on their head while point out truths about how attempting to erase the inconvenient doesn’t eliminate them or really push them into the background except as a presence that erodes the illusion of power. Musically at times it’s reminiscent of Boy Harsher, Alice Glass and the newer era of Sextile. But NESYA’s vocals are uniquely her own, soulful and even a little spooky in a way that boosts the emotional resonance of the music. It’s a song that should appear on the playlist of every Goth night this summer and beyond. Watch the video for “PUT THE FRIES IN THE BAG” on YouTube and follow NESYA at the links below.

NESYA on TikTok

NESYA on Instagram

NESYA on Apple Music

Jeki’s lush and sultry single “Hold On” taps into the sonic realms of neo-soul with a touch of downtempo. Her vocals are vibrant and establish a leisurely pace as she sings with affectionate compassion for a loved one who is struggling with how treacherous life can seem when everything feels frustrating and there is no clear path to doing what you want with your life and not enough experiences confirming which path is best. But Jeki’s lyrics gently point out that sometimes it just takes time and we can’t always know what is for us and where we fit in with the world right away and sometimes it just takes patience and not trying to force what we think we know. The bass line is understated in a jazz style and the keyboard melodies swirl and drift off and echo ever so slightly while Jeki’s voice anchors the song in a direct human experience with a warm confidence that really does hit like everything is going to be okay if we don’t succumb to the accelerated pace of living forced on us by our society and often our culture. Jeki seems to suggest that living is more important than striving. Listen to “Hold On” on Spotify and follow Jeki at the links provided.