Natanya – Sorrow At Sunrise

Rising star Natanya shares her highly anticipated debut EP, Sorrow at Sunrise, dropping “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes”, and fan fave, “23”.

An impressive debut, self-produced alongside co-collaborators Jkarri and Kwaku Konadu, Sorrow at Sunrise is a soul-baring record that dives deep into the experience of entering adulthood. In her era of navigating difficult “firsts”, Natanya finds solace in her headphones and through the keys of her piano. Across 5-tracks, she seamlessly fuses alt R&B with elements of soul, afrobeat, hip hop, funk and jazz, all set to her gloriously rich vocals

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The EP rounds out a huge year for Natanya, who has just scooped the coveted Best New Artist award at the 2023 GUAP Gala. The record follows recent smash singles, “Raining Tomorrow” and “Angel” (finding her fans in Wonderland, The Line of Best Fit, DMY, Notion, Clash, GUAP to name but a few) and her 2022 hit, “Foolish’, topping over 1.3 mil streams. 

On the EP, Natanya shares, “Sorrow At Sunrise describes the uncomfortable feeling of growing up and the lessons that come with it. That funny feeling in your stomach when you try and sleep a problem off, only to wake up and remember it’s still there. When you’re lying on your bed after a bad night, but it’s 5 a.m. and you haven’t made it to the bathroom to wash your makeup off. The pain in the goodbye when you leave home for the first time, and when your heart breaks for the first time, but your mum isn’t there to hug you. That’s sorrow at sunrise, the sadness in an area that everyone would associate with relief, new beginnings or excitement. Why is my version not going right?”

Pouring her heart out on the sentimental piano-driven rendition of “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometimes”, Natanya tackles heartbreak and loneliness head-on, her powerful, distinctive vocals soaring over emotive chords.The track first came to fruition during lockdown while Natanya was experiencing her first break-up, and sees her channelling her influences, with nods to Whitney Houston, Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush. Today, the previously unheard track drops alongside a poignant performance video, available to view now on YouTube. “This song seems to live forever. I found out about it in year 13, winter lockdown, in the bath as the end credits for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind rolled. I was pretty sad, I’d had my first kid breakup and the lockdown was lonely. I had been re-fixing songs since I was 16, and as it wouldn’t leave my head, it felt like the most natural thing to do.”

She adds, “Fast forward to 2023. Angel had just come out, I’d seen the end of an adult relationship that really meant something to me. The change of scenery from everything that had just happened career-wise meant that processing it was hard. I’d already made this weird dramatic synth arrangement, adding guitar to compliment it, and I was emotional in the session. I sent my friends on a walk so I could track the vocals and the bridge just came out all in one. My body and my head hurt – I just wanted to reflect that in the song as best as possible.” 

Trained at the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy and currently studying English Literature at University, Natanya is a rare triple threat and one of London’s most promising new talents. A songwriter, producer and instrumentalist, she gained an early musical education by listening to her Father’s records before taking up classical piano training, which began at age 4. With an intuitive approach to music making, she combines her skillset, including pitch-perfect vocals and her eclectic set of influences from grunge to classical, to R&B, Jazz and experimental pop. She names Stevie Wonder, The Neptunes, Tyler the Creator, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Hole, Frank Ocean, Amy Winehouse, Rachmaninoff and more as the foundations of her style. She also refers to  Afrofuturism and Surrealism as key influences, it’s clear she’s unafraid to be ambitious in her scope. She tackles themes of Bildungsroman (coming of age), social awkwardness and exclusion, self-image, heartbreak, unconventional relationships, beauty and obsession with a skill far beyond her years. Sonically, she refuses to be placed in a box.

In 2022, Natanya supported R&B superstar girl group FLO in Manchester and London after hitting 1+ million streams with self-released single “Foolish” (2022). Standing out from the crowd with her refreshing take on alternative R&B and her striking visual aesthetic, she has gained tastemaker support and has grown a dedicated fan base and online community via Instagram and Twitter, TikTok and her newsletter. Taking to the stage this year at Cross the Tracks, We Out Here Festival and at Stormzy x All Points East – ‘This Is What We Mean’ Day, and winning for Music Artist To Watch in this year’s GUAP Gala, her accolades are a testament to her beautifully crafted sound and raw talent. Natanya is proving she has laid the foundations for a very bright future, she is ascending.