Progressive London R&B Artist: ELIZA

ELIZA’s A Real Romantic album cover released in 2018

ELIZA is an “underground” singer-songwriter from Westminister, London. Her music is unlike anything else you’ll hear, it ranges from moody vocals to lo-fi-like bass lines and beats to sultry lyrics. Ultimately these vocals and beats produce a sensual and progressive R&B feel.

When getting to know ELIZA, a great place to start is her most popular single, Wasn’t Looking. ELIZA draws the listener in with a catchy bassline and illusive lyrics. She then hooks the listener with an intimate recollection of how she lured in her lover. She sings:

“Didn't want a heart full of fire
Burning up
It's something you denied (You denied)
But here you are (Here you are)
By my side”

Wasn’t Looking captures ELIZA’s natural ability to produce fluid and sultry vocals and lyrics.

Livid is ELIZA’s most passionate and intimate song. It highlights ELIZA’s unique ability as an R&B artist but also as a songstress who can convey and sustain such powerful emotions through her vocals. ELIZA’s vocal layering and range in this song facilitate an especially seductive R&B song. She sings:

“So if the world's gonna end, why don't you come knock my door?
We'll both be needing a friend, we can forget it all”

Livid and Wasn’t Looking both captures what makes ELIZA so special. She’s unapologetic, confident, flirtatious, and even risqué and that’s what makes her so alluring and mystifying.

Diving into her underground releases, one can see how special and truly mystifying she is as a progressive artist. Get In My Head Part III, starts with FF by Kiran Kai, an extremely sultry song coinciding with ELIZA’s graceful vocals. This flows into brief samples of nostalgic and evocative songs. One notable song is Sleepwalk by Santo & John which ELIZA puts a modern feminine twist on. This transitions into raw snippets of ELIZA’s vocals as well as different samples and monologues. Ultimately this entire mix is a stunning experience for a listener. Each song and sample flows perfectly and unexpectedly into one another. It’s something rare, genre-defying, and it captures ELIZA’s creativity and intuitiveness as a musician.

ELIZA is paving a new way for progressive R&B and female artists alike. Her lyrics are raw and vulnerable, and her vocals are free-flowing and passionate. ELIZA’s music captures an unprecedented sound that will hopefully break out of the underground and be amongst once progressive now legendary UK artists such as Amy Winehouse and Adele.