Leeds, UK · neo-soul

Corinne Bailey Rae

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'Put Your Records On' warmth and a fearless experimental streak since — a career that swerved from café-soul comfort into art-rock and electronic left turns.

Corinne Bailey Rae, born in Leeds in 1979, sang first in a Plymouth Brethren church before moving to a Baptist congregation, where she picked up guitar and wrote her earliest songs; early influences ranged from Lenny Kravitz to Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.

While studying English at the University of Leeds she fronted an indie band called Helen, inspired by Veruca Salt and L7, sharing early gigs with the fledgling Kaiser Chiefs. Roadrunner Records nearly signed the group, but the deal fell apart when the bassist became pregnant and the band split. Traces of that guitar-based background later surfaced in her solo work.

She emerged in 2006 with the self-titled debut Corinne Bailey Rae, led by "Put Your Records On"; its light, acoustic-leaning soul made her one of the more widely heard British vocalists of the period. The album debuted at number one, making her the fourth female British act to top the UK chart, has sold more than four million copies, and brought three Grammy nominations, three Brit Award nods and two MOBO Awards.

Subsequent albums moved away from that format: The Sea (2010), released after a near three-year hiatus and nominated for the Mercury Prize, turned to heavier subject matter following the death of her husband, musician Jason Rae; a cover of Bob Marley's "Is This Love" later won her a Grammy in 2012. She had already won a Grammy for Album of the Year as a featured vocalist on Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters.

Her third album, The Heart Speaks in Whispers (2016), pushed further into jazz, gospel and eventually a more abrasive, experimental palette drawing on free jazz, rock and electronics, debuting at number two on the Billboard R&B chart. She has worked with a range of collaborators across jazz and soul, and her live sets move between the early songs and this more exploratory material.

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neo-soul