Next Wave #1193: Amethyst

UK soul artist with a deep need for expression…

30 · 09 · 2024

Amethyst is a new voice in UK soul, melting together Millennial R&B, buttery neo-soul, and a touch of jazz, too. Mentored by long-time CLASH favourite Joy Crookes and supported by Jamz Supernova, her songwriting comes from the heart – there’s a purity to what she does that is absolutely striking.

Musical right from the start, some of Amethyst’s earliest memories are of jamming with her Dad in the car, the school run soundtracked by soca, disco, and even a touch of classical music. “I used to listen to a lot of that when I was younger,” she reflects. “I just remember how happy it made me singing along in the car with him.”

As he teens approached Amethyst began sketching out songs on the piano – more experiments, or sketches at first, before becoming something palpable. “My first songs were… so bad, oh my God!” she laughs. “It was just me talking about what happened to me that day, or a crush I had.”

Over time, though, music became the central facet of her life, a lens to view the world through. “I think that comes from having more life experiences,” she reflects, “and also allowing yourself to be more open and vulnerable.”

Winning a competition with Hypertribe, Joy Crookes came on board as a mentor, helping to trigger a hugely creative spell in her life. “It was honestly a life-changing experience,” the singer gushes. “She is the funniest, sweetest, most confident lady and she was the one who gave me the push to release my first single. She gave me advice on my songs and my production but I think the biggest lessons she taught me was about navigating this industry and having the belief in yourself.”

Out now, new EP ‘Daydreaming’ is a huge step forwards – the lush low-end aspects to the production have a club vibe, but there’s a real intimacy to the lyricism. “I wanted to show the growth of me as an artist from the last EP to this one. I knew I wanted to be more vulnerable and I felt ready to discuss certain things that I had gone through or seen first-hand such as addiction, loss, heartbreak, racism. I wanted to talk about all the things that have made me me up until now.”

The root of these songs lie in her commute to work, with Amethyst looking out of the window and, well, daydreaming. “I’d be taking in my surroundings and just trying to figure out this whole life thing… and just knowing how everyone everywhere is going through something. I just hope that people can connect with at least one of the songs on the project.”

Out now, the EP finds the songwriter rooting herself in her locality – there’s a distinctly British, definitively London-centric worldview at its core. One song – her favourite on the EP – is even called ‘Home’. “It has a personal connection to me and my experience but I wrote this song looking outwardly at what life is truly like in London. I think it marks a stage of me maturing musically, but most of all it’s the song that I want most people to remember and take with them through life to remind them of lessons they can learn.”

Plotting her next move, Amethyst has found a way to use music to ground her life. The spiritual meaning of the gemstone which serves as her name is linked to calmness and healing – one listen to this sparkling new EP, and you begin to understand why her appellation is so apt.

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Photo Credit: Jasmine Engel Malone

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