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Photo credit: Aubrey Simpson
New EP ‘INERTIA’ – out 23rd July on Heist or Hit (Westside Cowboy, Her’s)
Manchester singer-songwriter Lei Hope today unveils new single ‘WAYO’ – the latest taste of new EP ‘INERTIA’ out 23rd July on Heist or Hit (Westside Cowboy, Her’s).
Following lead single ‘LITTLE SIGN‘ (which CLASH Magazine described as “a feast of indie-soul originality”), new single ‘WAYO‘ is a raw, rhythm-driven outcry from the anger phase of grief. Simmering with frustration, it zeroes in on the helplessness of long-distance disconnection between him and his brother – a relationship central to much of the EP’s emotional world.
A seductive slow-burn, marrying polyrhythmic grooves and velvety finesse, ‘WAYO’ channels real-life loss into a cathartic, soulful release. Hope explains:
“’WAYO’ came from a place of frustration. This song is really me trying to process the anger that comes with grief. I was thinking about all the time I missed with my brother and how powerless I felt to change any of it. Writing it was a way of letting that feeling out.”
Across the five tracks on new EP ‘INERTIA‘, Zimbabwe-born, Leeds-raised, and Manchester-based Lei Hope explores grief, disconnection, and growth with clarity and poise. Wrapped in a cohesive genre bubble of alt-RnB, ‘Inertia’ feels like his most accomplished project to date.
Though rooted in Manchester, Lei Hope’s sound cuts against the city’s long-established rock and indie lineage. Instead, he’s emerging as a defining voice in a new wave of genre-fluid soul artists – part of a quieter underground scene built on story-telling and raw emotionality.
“I think it’s important to show a different side of what Manchester can sound like. My influences lean more alternative R&B, more introspective. I guess I sit on the edge of that, close enough to belong but far enough removed to be unique,” Hope says.
The EP was forged after a period of extensive touring, and Hope’s live experience has soaked into the music. More stage-aware, he observed that groove elicits crowd reaction and crafted work intentionally more rhythmic – yet retaining the warmth and intimacy that has become his signature.
Where previous EP ‘Matrices’ flirted with psychedelia and indie pop – with references ranging from Omar Apollo and Clairo to Yeek and Blood Orange, ‘INERTIA’ hones in on a distinct sonic identity: alternative R&B with a singer-songwriter soul. The EP draws influence from Daniel Caesar’s ‘Never Enough’, Phoebe Bridgers’ emotional candor, and the understated strength of Charlotte Day Wilson’s songwriting, with much of the EP initially written on acoustic guitar.
The result is music that feels both confessional and cinematic, often inspired by visuals and film scenes playing on mute in the background during recording sessions. “Looking back now, the EP is about loss in different forms. Loss of people, of time, of control. Each song was a way of letting something go,” Hope explains.
Hope co-produced the EP himself, enlisting a close circle of collaborators from Manchester’s growing alt-R&B underground, including returning producer Will Levison and new collaborator Hassan Kairi, with contributions from friends and bandmates on bass and keys. The process was intentionally stripped back, reflective of the EP’s emotional core.
With early praise from NPR, The Line Of Best Fit, CLASH Magazine, DIY Magazine, BBC 6 Music, La Blogotheque, plus a growing live reputation and wide ranging support from Spotify (The Basement, Hot New Bands, peach, Fresh Finds UK + US), ‘INERTIA’ sees Lei Hope solidify himself as a standout figure in the UK’s new alt-R&B and indie-soul movement. New single ‘WAYO’ is out now. New EP ‘INERTIA’ is out 23rd July on Heist or Hit.
‘INERTIA’ EP artwork and track list
1. LITTLE SIGN
2. WAYO
3. WRITE BACK
4. HYPERINDEPENDENCY
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