NEWS: Noya Rao/LYRAS @ Cobalt Studios

Image: Noya Rao

If there’s one thing I missed about live music during the wave of lockdowns more than anything else, it was that rush of euphoria when you chance upon a new act who blows your mind, and your expectations, to smithereens.

So, with that in mind, I extend huge props to Cobalt Studios for their regular FRESH Thursday events, which promise to offer the enthralling experience of discovering exciting new music alongside “lots of candles, board games and a home-cooked slap-up dinner” which is included in the price of the ticket (important side note: there are also alternate options for coeliac and those with nut allergies too!)

The instalment on Thursday 18^th November boasts an extraordinary double bill of neo-soul delights. Heading the bill is the Leeds-based synth-drenched future soul outfit Noya Rao, who have previously represented UK Jazz at SXSW, and whose intoxicating grooves, in the mould of Yussef Kamaal and Flying Lotus, will sit perfectly alongside local quintet LYRAS, a neo-soul/R&B group who have firmly established themselves as another welcome addition to the North East’s fledging neo-soul scene, with a new school jazz sound that firmly recalls the sophisticated sonics of Hiatus Kaiyote and Moonchild.

Noya Rao and LYRAS play Cobalt Studios, Newcastle on Thursday 18^th November