A member of New York collective Herbivores, Houston native Bel-Ami has unveiled his debut album Muse[ic].

Co-produced with Errick Lewis (Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z, Erykah Badu), Muse[ic] is a twisting neo-soul exploration full of airy arrangements, live instrumentation, and gospel-flavoured backing vocals.

You can hear the influences from seminal neo-soul artists (Maxwell, Bilal, D’Angelo) throughout, particularly in the slightly hymnal ‘Sun-Moon’ and the jittery, subdued funk of ‘Healing’. Bel-Ami showcases a range of vocal textures, delivering breathy vocals on ‘Raindrops’ as if whispering in his lover’s ear. ‘Find Love’ – piano-driven with R&B cadences and brassy textures – has the most emotional complexity of the collection as Bel-Ami accepts that he is unable to satisfy his lover’s emotional needs, while still longing that ‘you’ll love your way back to me.’ Sade’s reggae lullaby ‘By Your Side’ is rendered as a percussive mid-tempo with funky guitar in an impressive flip.

Bel-Ami says: “This album is raw and authentic. The sound and the subject matter is as gritty as the basement in Jersey, where the songs were recorded. Looking back, it’s almost as if we were living a dream. Everything was so effortless… I thought the most authentic way to record this album was to build the stairs as we climbed, so the bones of this project were recorded in a single live take, as we used each moment as a muse for the next. We created freely and fully, prioritizing expression over arbitrary industry rules, while also paying homage to the greats who have planted these seeds of inspiration in me. If you appreciate soul music in its truest form, you’ll appreciate this album”.

Standout Tracks: ‘Find Love’, ‘By Your Side’