Indie R&B from Claudia Isaki

Raised in suburban Paris and now based in London, French-Congolese singer-songwriter Claudia Isaki has built her music around the meeting point of different worlds. Her sound brings together UK rock, French chanson, R&B and Congolese rumba, creating an intimate and emotionally compelling style that leaves plenty of room for reflection. Across her songwriting, she explores faith, identity, mental health and determination, using personal feeling as the platform for music that’s struck a chord with listeners all over the world.

Music was already a live experience for Claudia before it became a recorded one and she began gigging in Paris at seventeen, performing before she’d released any music. That early relationship with the stage has remained central to her artistic vision, with her warm, magnetic presence becoming an important part of the connection she creates with audiences. Earlier this year, that connection was highlighted when her debut London headline show sold out in just four hours, prompting a second date to be added soon afterwards.

Her recorded journey began with the breakout EPs My Home and Golden Hour in 2020 while three years later came More Flowers, a self-released project that further mapped out her reflective style of songwriting. New Wave Magazine dubbed her as “an artist at her purest state” and her music has since earned a global following, clocked more than 30 million streams and secured a growing US fanbase and increasing demand for live performances. Her ability to connect with an audience through just voice and guitar places the emotional context of her songwriting firmly in the foreground, allowing the ideas around faith, identity, stregnth and personal experience to carry their own impact.

Now signed to indie imprint ANOtHERlanD, Claudia is preparing for the release of her highly anticipated debut full-length record, Everywhere You Go, There You Are, arriving on the 16th of October. Now, before that record lands, she offers a brighter and more nostalgic window into its world with her latest single titled “San Francisco.” Inspired by a summer trip to America’s West Coast with her sister, “San Francisco” captures a distinctly lighter side of Claudia’s songwriting, presenting a shimmery, summery track that simply feels good, carrying the warmth of a shared experience while allowing themes of love, friendship and sisterhood to move through its centre.

The sense of place is important to the song but so too is the relationship at its heart and within the track, the trip with her sister provides the emotional backdrop for a celebration of connection and the memories created between two people. Opened by Claudia’s delicate vocals and soft acoustic guitar backing, the song flows with fluttering leads and breezy melodies as the laid back rustle of drums brings a smooth rhythmic sway. Gliding with soulful vocal performance, mellow groove and intricate guitar flourishes, “San Francisco” rolls with instantly catchy hooks and transportive tone, offering a stunning indie R&B jam that’s memorable, playful and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

It’s a superb display of Claudia’s engaging songwriting and performance talent while carrying the easy glow of remembering something that mattered. It also provides an intriguing counterpoint to the deeper emotional sphere that’s characterised her wider body of work. With her debut album approaching, Claudia Isaki finds herself at a significant point in an already decorated journey. From beginning to perform in Paris at seventeen to building an international audience and selling out London shows, her musical adventure has been informed by an ability to make highly personal music feel open and accessible and we can’t wait to see what her forthcoming LP has in store.

Listen to San Francisco below

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