Olivia Dean has become one of Britain’s most distinctive contemporary voices by combining classic soul warmth with modern pop songwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If \u201cRein Me In\u201d has introduced you to Dean, there’s a much bigger musical world waiting behind it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her sound sits somewhere between soul, jazz, pop and singer-songwriter music, which makes finding exact comparisons difficult \u2014 but also makes the search much more interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are 25 places to go next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Probably the most obvious starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warm vocals, effortless melodies and soul music presented without feeling remotely old-fashioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cleo Sol strips soul music down to something intimate and incredibly human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Dean’s softer performances appeal to you, start here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winehouse combined vintage soul influences with unmistakably contemporary British personality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The songwriting remains phenomenal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
La Havas brings jazz, folk and soul together with extraordinary guitar playing and one of Britain’s most expressive voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A darker route from Dean into modern British R&B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith’s restrained delivery makes everything feel more intimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RAYE can make huge pop records, but her jazzier material demonstrates just how broad her musical vocabulary is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crookes shares Dean’s ability to make classic influences feel distinctly British and contemporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slow, dramatic and beautifully sung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A good choice if the emotional side of Dean’s music is what grabs you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gentle neo-soul with understated production and a voice that feels extremely close to the listener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More indie than soul, but Parks shares Dean’s conversational approach to emotional songwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modern British R&B with considerably more bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An excellent breakup song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laid-back jazz-soul that rewards headphone listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soul, jazz and electronic production collide beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Misch’s guitar-heavy soul-pop occupies a similar relaxed listening space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If vocals are your priority, Yebba is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her control and emotional range are extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smooth modern soul with immaculate production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laufey leans further into jazz and bossa nova but appeals to many of the same listeners looking for elegant songwriting and warm arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sparse, emotional and beautifully written.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bridges began closer to classic soul revivalism but has increasingly incorporated contemporary production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much bigger and more cinematic, but another brilliant example of British artists reinventing classic soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Soft, intimate songwriting with jazz and indie influences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minimal production lets the melody and songwriting do the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bossa nova, R&B and pop meet in a particularly easy-going combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Excellent modern jazz-pop with clever relationship writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you arrived through \u201cRein Me In\u201d, don’t forget to explore Dean herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes the best recommendation for somebody who likes one song by an artist is simply another great song by that artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dean is usually placed somewhere around soul-pop, neo-soul and R&B, with jazz and classic singer-songwriter influences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But genre labels only take you so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The common thread across the artists above isn’t that they sound identical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Songs built around actual performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Vocals that sound human rather than surgically perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arrangements with space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And songwriting that can carry a track without relying on production tricks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If that’s what brought you to Olivia Dean, you’ve got a lot more music to discover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Olivia Dean has become one of Britain’s most distinctive contemporary voices by combining classic soul warmth with modern pop songwriting. If \u201cRein Me In\u201d has introduced you to Dean, there’s a much bigger musical world waiting behind it. Her sound sits somewhere between soul, jazz, pop and singer-songwriter music, which makes finding exact comparisons difficult \u2014 but also makes the search much more interesting. Here are 25 places to go next. 1. Corinne Bailey Rae \u2013 Put Your Records On Probably the most obvious starting point. Warm vocals, effortless melodies and soul music presented without feeling remotely old-fashioned. 2. Cleo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3530,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2159,2158,2157,1258,2156],"coauthors":[2],"class_list":["post-3529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cleo-sol","tag-corinne-bailey-rae","tag-obsession","tag-olivia-dean","tag-soul-pop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n