“Love I Need feat. Rapsody” is the latest single from Moonchild’s upcoming album ‘Starfruit’ (out 11th February) featuring the Grammy award-nominated rapper signed to Jay Z’s label Roc Nation, known for her intricate rhythms, clever metaphors and wordplay and collaborations with the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, 9th Wonder, and Estelle. The fifth album from the LA-based trio (Amber Navran, Andris Mattson, and Max Bryk) features previous singles “Too Good”, “You Got One feat. Alex Isley” and “Tell Him feat. Lalah Hathaway” alongside forthcoming collaborations from Tank and The Bangas, Ill Camille, Mumu Fresh, Chantae Cann, and Josh Johnson.
Tracks taken from ‘Starfruit’ have already received press accolades from NPR, Wordplay Magazine, Stereofox, UPROXX, Billboard, France Inter, Rated R&B and Soul Bounce. There’s also been a huge amount of radio support from Clara Amfo, Sian Eleri (BBC Radio 1), Jamz Supernova, Emmavie (BBC 1Xtra), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Mary Anne Hobbs, Don Letts, Tarzsa Williams (BBC 6Music), Children Of Zeus and Marshmello (NTS), Emmavie (BBC 1Xtra), Anthony Valadez, Morning Becomes Eclectic, Raul Campos, Scott Dallavo, Ro Contreras (KCRW), Bandcamp Weekly, Erica McKoy, Ashley Beedle and Asya Shein (Worldwide FM), Huw Stephens (BBC Radio Wales), Late Nights (Triple J) and playlisting on Jazz FM (including support from Jamie Crick, Nigel Williams, Simon Phillips, Chris Gilvear, Tony Minvielle, Deb Grant, John Osborne, YolanDa Brown and China Moses).
Musically a love letter to the likes of Sly Stone and D’Angelo, “Love I Need feat. Rapsody” maps the transition from an independent woman to a life with a partner who shows up and offers support. With a beat written by Amber Navran – inspired by the sounds of late night jamming in the studio – littered with flugelhorn parts, the Grammy-award nominated rapper Rapsody provides a verse fitting with the theme and flow of the track. “I think my favourite moment happens halfway through Rapsody’s verse where the band breaks on beat one and comes back in with some hits that match Rapsody’s line”, Andris Mattson muses. Combining these musical influences, lyrical purpose and collaborative understanding, “Love I Need feat. Rapsody” is an addictive and immediate classic.
The release of ‘Starfruit’ follows Moonchild’s critically acclaimed album ‘Little Ghost’ which saw huge support from the likes of Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Jamz Supernova (BBC 1Xtra), Huey Morgan, Cerys Matthews and Don Letts (BBC 6Music), Bradley Zero and from across Jazz FM (who previously named the band Soul Act Of The Year) and KCRW. The album also saw press accolades from Paste Magazine, Vinyl Factory, Soul Bounce, HYPEBEAST, Cool Hunting, Complex and from NPR, with Moonchild’s Tiny Desk Session having now logged over 3.7 million views.
Following the release of ‘Little Ghost’, Moonchild played some of their biggest shows to date, toured with Jill Scott, and performed at Tiny Deskbefore things were cut short due to COVID-19. 2019’s ‘Little Ghost’ followed the widely-praised ‘Voyager’ [2017], ‘Please Rewind’ [2015] and ‘Be Free’ [2012] which were shown love by DJs across BBC 1Xtra, BBC 6Music, FIP Radio, KCRW, BBC Radio 2, Jazz FM, Worldwide FMand KEXP. The releases garnered praise from The Fader, Complex, Echoes Magazine, Saint Heron, Kick Mag, KEXP and Okayplayer, with the band racking up over 100 million plays on Spotify and Apple Music and the video for “The List” gaining 15+ million views on YouTube.
Moonchild have collaborated and toured with highly respected names from across music including Kamasi Washington, Stevie Wonder, The Internet, Jill Scott, have been compared to the likes of Tom Misch and Jordan Rakei and built up a host of iconic supporters from Robert Glasper (who has collaborated with Amber on his own projects) and Laura Mvula to James Poyser,Jazzy Jeff, 9th Wonder and Tyler, The Creator.
PRAISE FOR ‘STARFRUIT’
“Bouncy, drum-heavy grooves and dreamy keys” – NPR |“A delicious groove… Like watching chocolate melt and the aroma is tickling your senses” – WORDPLAY |“As vital to your morning as a cup of caffeine” – BILLBOARD |“They make really silky warm music… Perfect” – CLARA AMFO (BBC RADIO 1) | “That is so lush… Absolutely adore that” – TONY MINVIELLE (JAZZ FM) |“Absolutely beautiful… I’m obsessed with them” – SIAN ELERI (BBC RADIO 1) |“This feels like music that comes out of the LA sunshine” – JAMIE CULLUM (BBC RADIO 2) |“Satin-like vocals and irresistible soulful grooves” – STEREOFOX |“Beautiful stuff… Sounding fantastic” – HUW STEPHENS (BBC RADIO WALES) |“Contender for tune of the year for 2022” – SIMON PHILLIPS (JAZZ FM) |“Soulful goodness” – TARZSA WILLIAMS
MOONCHILD’S ‘STARFRUIT’ NORTH AMERICA / EUROPE 2022 TOUR
USA:
March 29: Redbank, NJ @ The Vogel
March 30: Boston, MA @ The Paradise Rock Club
April 1: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club (Late Show)
April 2: New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
April 3: Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
April 5: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
April 6: Charlotte, NC @ Amos’ Southend
April 8: Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
April 9: Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
April 12: Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
April 14: Austin, TX @ The Parish
April 15: Houston, TX @ Studio @ WHL
April 16: Dallas, TX @ Trees
April 19: Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
April 20: St Louis, MO @ Old Rock House
April 21: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
April 23: Detroit, MI @ El Club
April 24: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom and Tavern
April 26: Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall
April 27: Montreal, QC @ Ausgang Plaza
April 30: San Diego, CA @ Music Box
May 1st: Santa Barbara, CA @ SOhO
May 5: Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
May 6: Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
May 7: Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret
May 11: Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
May 13: San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Europe (RESCHEDULED):
Sep 03: Riga, LV @ Palladium Black Box
Sep 05: Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret
Sep 06: Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Sep 07: Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
Sep 08: Hamburg, DE @ Laeiszhalle
Sep 10: Berlin, DE @ Gretchen
Sep 11: Prague, CZ @ Palac Akropolis
Sep 12: Warsaw, PL @ Praga Centrum
Sep 13: Vienna, AT @ Porgy & Bess
Sep 15: Frankfurt, DE @ Zoom
Sep 16: Paris, FR @ Trabendo
Sep 17: Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Oude Zaai
Sep 20: Roeselare, BE @ Trax
Sep 21: Rotterdam, NL @ LantarenVenster
Sep 22: Eindhoven, NL @ Fifth NRE
Sep 25: Bristol, UK @ Trinity
Sep 26: Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Sep 28: Birmingham, UK @ Academy 2
Sep 29: Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
Sep 30: London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
Oct 03: Leeds, UK @ The Wardrobe
Oct 04: Madrid, ES @ Spain Caracol
Oct 05: Barcelona, ES @ Spain La Nau
