To listen to Stevie Hawkins’ take on "A Song For You" is to have a conversation with a ghost in a dimly lit room after the show has ended. Hawkins, long the rhythmic engine for the song's originator Leon Russell, steps from behind the drum kit to the microphone, and the space between these two roles compresses decades into four and a half minutes....

Nishy, whose family tree stretches across many countries, infuses alternative R&B and pop music with a distinctively global flavour. She makes the most of the opportunities presented by her varied background to create a sonically complex tapestry that resists easy categorization. Memories From A Vinyl, her first album, is an amazing maiden release that echoes the eclectic mix of her French, Mauritian, and Indian background via...