Ni Maxine - Mother's Arms EP (Ripe Records) 
Release Date: Out Now
There is something arresting and enveloping about the 'Mother's Arms' EP from Ni Maxine that means the world seems to stop around you as soon as you hear the opening bars. We dive straight into opening track 'Time' with a softly droning chord and a skittish beat providing the sparse backdrop for a supremely soulful vocal to perform in front of. The Liverpool based singer is on a more chilled out tip for the title track as a softly strummed acoustic guitar and a subtle backing vocal give space for jazz influenced sway of this song with sprinkled piano notes and that most intimate of all musical noises - fingers moving up and down the fret board.
By the time we get to 'Not For Me', you should be fully emersed in the luxuriousness of Ni Maxine's voice but if you're not then this one will gently pull you under as images of low lit, late night, smoky clubs are brought to mind along with the spirit of Amy Winehouse. The EP finishes on the piano and percussion swing of 'Freedom' that draws on elements of Trip-Hop and the smoothness of artists like Sade but with a Latin sway in the hips making it the perfect slow jam for a beach party by an open fire. Ni Maxine is a new voice to me but one that I'll be looking out for based on this EP, simply beautiful music with a calmness that is hard to find these days.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/ni_maxine/