Maiiah & the Angels Of Libra - Maiiah & the Angels Of Libra (2023) Hi-Res

The debut album of soul singer Maiiah is also the third full-length by Hamburg collective Angels of Libra, following on from the success of their collaboration with Irish singer Nathan Johnston.

Maiiah is a singer with roots in the Balkans but growing up in Düsseldorf, the city of the legendary Unique Club and the label of the same name. Soul left its mark on her early on, and when she met Hamburg producer, musician and composer Dennis Rux (Hamburg Spinners/Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Studios) during the pandemic, the two realized they shared a similar musical vision. Their common love of soul music and old rhythm & blues brought them together, and they started recording music together in Hamburg with the Angels of Libra. Lo and behold, their first single together "Obey" got into rotation at tastemaker station Radioeins and confirmed them as a winning team.

Hamburg’s ANGELS OF LIBRA are a prolific little lot. In not a lot of time, they’ve delivered a couple of albums and have just launched a third – a full-blown collaboration with singer MAIIAH. The band have worked with her before. Between them they’ve released (we think) two singles – ‘No, No, no’ and ‘Kava’ and now those two tracks take centre stage on a full Angels/Maiiah joint album.

The eponymous collection is a 10 tracker and it offers plenty more of the bold, brash, brassy sound of those singles. Not surprising, since Maiiah and producer Dennis Rux share a passion for classic soul, so again, no surprise that one of this LP’s highlights is a cover of Barbara Lynn’s ‘I’m A Good Woman’. Maiiah and the band give it the right amount of respect and deliver a properly authentic take – in analogue, of course! Other highlights include the simple and less restrained ‘Obey’ (listen up to the sweet and catchy riff, lovely) and the stirring Southern soul tinged ‘Please Come Home’.

Retro soul is enjoying something of a renaissance right now and the Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the movement and in Maiiah they’ve found a vocalist who can help them deliver with passion, commitment and real soul.