Next up in our ‘1 2 Watch’ series is the empowering Leicester songwriter shanesa, who has just liberated her vibrant, introspective EP ‘Impasse’.

shanesa, who writes, engineers, mixes and masters the tunes herself, is inspired by R&B greats like Jhene Aiko, Jill Scott and Kehlani, and combines classic R&B sensibilities with modern, alternative production techniques to create a unique and kaleidoscopic sound. East Midlands born and raised, shanesa found her passion for music at a young age, spending her teenage years honing her vocals and has now been recording and releasing for the past 3 years. shanesa released her debut EP ‘Esoteric’ last year, which has accumulated over 100k streams, indicating her impressive mass appeal considering the drop was independent. 

The song-stress recently blessed us with her sophomore EP ‘Impasse’, which is a vivid, tender exploration of the breakdown of a stale relationship, as she uses her acute narrative nuance to portray the heartache with dreamy contemplation. Colourful palettes and dazzling vocals lull the listener into a state of relaxation, allowing the full extent of the wistful message to be taken in.

I spoke to shanesa about her musical upbringing and her new EP.

How has your musical and cultural upbringing affected your musical style and inspiration?

My dad is in his late 70s so the music I grew up listening to were old songs from the 40s/50s, which I still love to listen to today because it reminds me of my childhood. As I grew into my early teens, Pop music was mostly my go to, kind of just fell into the genre until moving over to R&B in my late adolescence. I really just go off whatever I’m exposed to. I've listened to a wide range of genres from young but I’ll always love old skool R&B, that’s where my heart is.

Talk me through the themes and motifs of the EP? Is it more personal or conceptually for you?

Impasse is quite a personal project. Originally, I had written and completed 5 songs which I thought were going to be on the EP until I realised I was in a static situation which I felt couldn’t continue. So I scrapped everything I had and wrote a whole new project about how I was feeling. Because I’m not very good at expressing my deeper emotions, it was so much more manageable to pour everything I had out within these tracks and so finalising ‘Impasse’ within the month I had started.

For me, your sound really encapsulates that late night R&B mood that is prominent in the UK scene right now. Where do you see yourself within the wider industry scope?

Chilled R&B is my favourite to listen to. I’d like to think that my vocals are versatile. I’ve released garage and house tunes with many more to come, and I’m also working on a drum and bass track which is set to release this summer. R&B is my main genre but really, I just make music that I like and that I’d want to listen to. Not sure what box the industry will place me in but I guess time will tell.

What’s to come in the future? Where do you see yourself being in 3 years time?

At the moment I’m working on writing and recording new material as well as releasing visuals for current releases. I’m not one to think too far ahead because we don’t know what will happen in this life. I just hope that I am healthy and further along in my music career than I am today.

Discover shanesa’s stunning new EP below!