George Riley: The R&B Songwriter and Club Kid Who Ignites Joy | The music

Of London, England
Recommended if you like Keiya A, Janet Jackson, Rochelle Jordan
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“It was like my anguished, sad depression days, which I’m happy to say are now over,” George Riley said of his acclaimed 2022 feature debut, Running in Waves. week in the summer of 2020, it was delightfully filled with diartic turns of phrase detailing life’s challenges, changing friendships, and soul-searching; his unclassifiable music saw furious drum breaks, soulful vocals and soft strings dancing for space. Take the Amazing Time, a resounding manifesto in which Riley declares her limits and lists the things in life that are dear to her: deep conversations, good weed, Camper shoes. Today, she calls the song her attempt to “have control where I didn’t have control before.”

The title of the project refers to the difficulty of running against the tide, which at the time seemed to be a defining feature of Riley’s career and relationships. The 25-year-old Londoner has struggled with pandemic isolation and struggled to balance music with day jobs and studies (she recently completed a law conversion degree). “Career-wise, I felt like I was trying really hard but not getting anything done,” she says. “I didn’t know if I could overcome it. But this year I was able to travel, sing and do what I love, because people listened – maybe it’s viable.

Most fans first heard Riley on Manchester DJ Anz’s 2021 track You Could Be, their ears pricked by his strong R&B vocals and enjoyable passages. Overall, though, she’s part of an emerging DIY scene that’s reconstructing and recombining traditional genres in an effort to create something new. His influences range from R&B predecessors like Janet Jackson and futuristic newcomers like Kelela to Afrofuturist sci-fi novelists Samuel R Delany and Octavia Butler. “With writing, I like to play with this conformity and non-conformity,” she says. “Usually I try to keep it carefree and not put pressure on the creative process.”

This extends to her frenetic performances, where she solo freestyles and riffs to her own music (as well as the ghettotech instrumentals of Detroit pioneers such as DJ Assault), an approach that dates back to her days as a teenage raver. This coming year, she wants to bring in additional musicians, expanding her live performances to accompany music that leans into club culture — and reflects a happier outlook. “I have a new breath in life,” she says. “I want to have fun playing and have an even greater responsibility in wanting to enjoy it.”