LINEAR LABS 6th October 2026
Ala.ni has a classy soul-jazz voice and this intimate set of songs is given an immaculately groomed accompaniment by Adrian Younge. The set is crafted and polished to a fine gleam yet Ala.ni’s voice manages to be vulnerable, loving, strong, wistful by turns.
This is only her fourth album but she’s taken her time over it, writing songs in collaboration in a couple of bursts – 2018 and 2020 that reflect on her life moving from Paris to Los Angeles, discovering herself in the process. Adrian Younge is an established producer and specialises in a vintage, analogue sound that keeps the set real, even when smooth. It made for a true collaboration, with Younge constructing the shape of the music and Ala.ni adding words and vocal melodies. The combination makes for the sort of richness you’d expect on a Bond theme song.
Songs like ‘Run’ glide in a weightless, effortless way and let the sad reflection on a lover trying to elude commitment sink in, as if by osmosis. In contrast, Younge provides rougher, turbulent music for ‘Dusty Road’, where the jazzy edge to Ala.ni’s voice curls deliciously round the textures. For sheer floating elegance, drop into ‘Face In The Evening’, a song that sounds like the richest blend of hot chocolate you ever experienced – it’s one to luxuriate in. The melodies throughout are full-on earworms and come back to echo through my brain daily. It’s like I’ve known them for years.
‘Proud Of Me’ has been sitting mysteriously on the shelf for half a decade, perhaps preferring to release the stripped back voice-and-beatbox ‘Acca’, yet sounds entirely contemporary, thanks to the timeless sound – a cinematically rich late night smooth soul. Songs are often simple and the mood is in the vocal melody as we experience loss, wonder or acceptance. This is a warm, classy and infectious collaboration, one where two people have brought out special aspects of each other.
Ross McGibbon