Royce Wood Junior is a London based soul singer and producer who’s about to make big waves with his debut album The Ashen Tang. It’s the product of RWJ’s personal and distinctive blend of influences that include R&B heroes like D’Angelo and Prince but also wonky electronica from the likes of Radiohead as well as the precise production of J Dilla. Cutting his teeth over the past few years as a co-producer for the likes of soul-sensation Jamie Woon and BBC Sound Music poll topper Kwabs, RWJ’s latest release from the album is ‘Don’t Wanna Lose You’: that you can exclusively hear on Wonderland first.
The track is a cover of Tony D and Veba’s underground classic of the same name (no, me neither), and layers RWJ’s distant-vocals against a lushly produced foreground of tinkering melody and murky underwater distortion. It’s an intelligently orchestrated piece that part soothes and part intrigues: a pretty good sign that The Ashen Tang will be one to look out for when it drops at the end of the month.
