- Words Notion Staff
- Photography Rosie Matheson
Producer, singer-songwriter and guitarist, edbl, picks 10Trax that are sure to become your new fave tunes.
Chester-born, London-based producer and instrumentalist, edbl (real name: Ed Black) is already cementing himself as one of the most prolific collaborators on the UK Soul/R&B scene today. Having released four bodies of work in only two years, it seems Black’s work ethic knows no bounds. With his sumptuous blend of jazz, R&B, hip-hop and soul providing a healthy dose of serotonin with every listen, we for one hope he keeps it up.
While his previous mixtape ‘Boys & Girls’ was written in the depths of lockdown, with his latest EP ‘Brockwell’ – although still recorded in his home studio – Black relished the opportunity to work with his collaborators face to face.
Adept at genre-bending, Black is at the forefront of young artists who don’t feel the need to subscribe to one sound too strictly. Speaking on his project, Black elaborates: “I love the freedom that comes with a mixtape in terms of genre – I really enjoyed stepping out of the hip-hop pocket for a couple of the tracks like “Lemonade” and “Never Met” which are a bit more house/dance-oriented, and “Taken” which is more soul-influenced. In the same respect, I loved working with some more rappers on the release – Nick, Jarki and Nix are some of my favourite UK rappers and I’m really pleased with how our tracks turned out.”
With over 15 million streams and counting, edbl’s star is steadily rising with every release. In celebration of the new EP, the musical maverick picks 10Trax for Notion that you’re going to want to add to your playlist straight away.
"HOW I’VE BEEN" by Swindle, JNR WILLIAMS, Joy Crookes, Loyle Carner & Kojey Radical
"The calibre of features on this track is insane, as well as across the whole album Swindle just dropped. He’s a genius and someone I really look up to as an artist/producer."
"DAO" by Belém
"I love the guitar loop so much and the drums SLAP. DAO does some beautiful guitar-based instrumental stuff, which is right up my alley."
"Die 4 U" by Erick the Architect, Sophie Faith, Linden Jay
"Linden is a producer I’ve followed and admired for a while now. This whole EP from early 2021 is lush, particularly this track. Am working on getting in with Sophie to make a track of our own!"
"REMEDY" by Cherise
"This track is pure soulful bliss. CHERISE is one of my favourite UK artists and the vocals and production on Remedy are 10/10."
"Broken Chandeliers" by Kofi Stone ft. Jacob Banks
"Was lucky enough to hear a demo of this when working with Kofi a year or so ago and loved it straight away. Jacob Banks on the chorus is the icing on the cake. Kofi always kills it."
"4/4 (Love Affair)" by Carrie Baxter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdjUerLqmtc"This is an old Carrie Baxter joint but I only discovered it this week. It grooves hard and Carrie has a lush signature vocal."
"Sentimental Love" by Slum Village
"Had to include some old school hip-hop on my 10trax, of which Slum Village are undoubtedly kings."
"Take It Slow" by Ella McMurray
"This is a beautifully simple, stripped, piano-led track that is carried by the strength of Ella's delicate vocal."
"Superhero" by Kiefer
"Kiefer is the don of instrumental jazz-inspired music and is a phenomenal keys player. This track combines all of that. Slaparazzi."
"Vibrate" by Mr Jukes, Barney Artist
"I’m a huge Bombay Bicycle Club fan, so was delighted (& surprised) when Jack started the Mr Jukes project. They both killed it on this project - Barney is someone I’d love to work with one day!"