REYA is the project of Melbourne born R&B artist Rebecca Matthews, who has been steadily releasing tracks for the past three years in the build-up to her forthcoming second EP.
Heat is a standalone single, made to wet her fans’ appetites.
Taking queue from influences such as Erykah Badu, Solange and Anderson .Paak, REYA fuses soul, RnB and electronic pop to craft a sound that is both progressive and retrospective.
There are also clear links to her other inspirations, artists like The Internet and Kaytranada: she aims to make music that’s dreamy and deep, ethereal and expansive, as she crafts a catalogue to convey a worldliness beyond her years.
New single ‘Heat’ marks REYA’s return, once again working with producer and mix engineer Haxx (Kult Kyss, LALKA, Aeora). Subtle 808’s boom under a driving kick drum, while neo soul chords and classic breaks float over the song’s surface.
REYA’s delicate vocals weave their way throughout, building harmonies in tune with REYA’s own building frustration. All the while, ever-so-cooly, she grooves “I can’t keep my cool, in the heat.”
Melding sampled breaks with REYA’s silky vocals, ‘Heat’ is a journey into soul and house music, encompassing the same soulful simplicity that strips back R&B and encapsulates the neo-soul genre.
“Heat is an exploration into lust and intimacy,” she says. “It’s about the frustration of never being quite close enough physically and emotionally.”
REYA has a new EP on the horizon, you can listen to ‘Heat’ on Soundcloud here or on Spotify here.
