Denai Moore set to '˜Bloom' in Leeds

Modern soulstress Denai Moore is heading for Leeds as she tours new LP '˜We Used to Bloom'.
Denai Moore: Leeds show.Denai Moore: Leeds show.
Denai Moore: Leeds show.

The British-Jamaican singer rose to prominence as a guest vocalist on SBTRKT’s 2014 album ‘Wonder Where We Land’ and is branching out as a fully fledged star herself these days.

Three years on from the SBTRKT guest spot Denai is out touring a really well received second solo record with a headline tour of her own that will call in at the Headrow House in Leeds on Tuesday, October 3.

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‘We Used To Bloom’, out through Because Music, is a declaration of growth, a break-up letter to her demons and a love letter to the liberated self.

It features acclaimed singles ‘Trickle’ and ‘Does It Get Easier?’ plus the recently unveiled album track ‘All The Way’, featuring Kwabs.

The album also features a sumptuous cover of Elliott Smith’s Twilight within which Denai reveals a new depth to the song, through spacious production and the fragile strength of her voice.

The last couple of years have provided an intense and sometimes painful period of growth for Moore — an experience that she documents now with unflinching openness on We Used to Bloom. These 10 songs reveal a young woman figuring out the world and her place in it, while also charting Moore’s evolving relationship with herself — with self-esteem, self-image and the crippling anxiety she once suffered and is now challenging head on through her songwriting. “I’ve never written about this before and it was a massive weight off my shoulders,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to write about it and I think a lot of people can relate to it because people are more open now about mental health issues. I think it is empowering.”

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The new album’s title, she says, is a nod to the feeling of self-growth.

“I chose it because I felt like I’m in the growing aspect of my life,” she explains. “There’s something about blossoming and blooming that I associate with being younger, but now I’m older and I’m really coming to understand myself as a person. We used to bloom; now we grow.”

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