New band of the day – No 1,298: Josephine

Far from being just another soul singer, Josephine Oniyama is more Morrissey in Manchester than Dusty in Memphis

Hometown: Manchester.

The lineup: Josephine Oniyama (vocals, music).

The background: Josephine Oniyama is not another soul girl, even though some early breathless accounts of her work and voice are of the "you won't believe this isn't a classic lost R&B or blues recording" variety. Actually, in terms of vocal delivery and idiosyncratic lyrical vision, the girl (born to a Liberian mother and Jamaican father) from Cheetham Hill has more in common with Morrissey than she does Mahalia Jackson. She has been working with Ed Harcourt as have a number of aspiring female artists, including Salford lass Ren Harvieu and you can tell from the quixotic song structures and quirky... [via Guardian - Culture]