Hil St Soul is part of the fabric of British soul. A collaborative partnership between vocalist Hilary Mwelwa and producer Victor Redwood-Sawyerr, Hil St Soul released their debut Soul Organic in 1999 and went on to cultivate a following across both sides of the Atlantic. Hil St Soul’s last original album was 2008’s Black Rose (though a compilation album Release came out the following year). Having parted with Redwood-Sawyerr to pursue different projects, Mwelwa worked for a year in her native Zambia, released a solo project under the name ‘Hilz’ in 2011, and began drip-feeding us solo ‘Hil St Soul’ material throughout the pandemic.

Back In Love, released on Shanachie, picks up where Black Rose left off. With fresh yet throwback production throughout from Regi Myrix and Lorenzo Johnson (and Prince Damon on the wonderful cover of ‘Heaven Must Be Like This’), Back In Love makes a welcome intervention in the British soul landscape. Mwelwa’s fluid vocals, snaking between her mellow R&B grooves, are characteristically effortless but peppered with moments of grit and attack (particularly on slow-jam ‘King’). She enlists American R&B singer Noel Gourdin – who she collaborated with in 2014 on ‘No Worries’ – for steamy duets on ‘Amazing’ and ‘Blessed’. The stripped back ‘Sweet Heaven’ evokes her acoustic cover of Aretha Franklin’s ‘Until You Come Back to Me’ over 23 years ago, while ‘In My Groove’ is some ’90s-inspired amorous R&B (‘Spin me like a vinyl baby,’ Mwelwa croons). Measured and feel-good with moments of pulsing sensuality, this is what Hil St Soul does best.

Read Hil St Soul’s recent interview for Clash Magazine here. 

Image copyright: Shanachie Entertainment