Lloyiso – Seasons

For everyone who found my actual album of the week a little too rocky: here is the opposite.

And this time it gets very personal.

If I had to choose the record that has moved me most deeply over the past few years, it would probably be Lloyiso’s “Seasons” from 2023. ❤️ Strictly speaking, Seasons is not an album but his debut EP. In this case, that distinction does not matter much to me.

A voice that does something to you

There are good singers, exceptional singers, and then there are voices that do something to you. For me, Lloyiso most definitely belongs in that last category.

I even have to admit that there are moments when his voice actually brings tears to my eyes. Not because the music has to be sad, but because of that extraordinary mixture of power, warmth and vulnerability in his voice. Sometimes a single passage is enough, and there it is: that goosebump moment.

His lyrics fit his voice remarkably well. They explore love and separation, vulnerability and self-doubt, but also finding and accepting yourself again. “Give A Little Kindness” is perhaps one of the loveliest examples: show yourself the same understanding and kindness that you offer other people.

Gospel roots and modern soul

Perhaps part of the special impact of his voice lies in his story. Lloyiso grew up with church music, sang in church as a child and later in a choir. Those gospel roots are still audible: in the power, the sweeping phrases and, above all, the extraordinary emotion in his voice. That does not make his music gospel or church music, though. He combines those roots with modern pop, soul and R&B, at times arranging his songs almost cinematically. Alongside gospel, he names influences as varied as Sam Smith, Beyoncé, Labrinth and even Kanye West. Perhaps that mixture is precisely what moves me: the soul and intensity of gospel, translated into beautifully produced modern songs.

A rather lovely story suggests that I am not quite alone in my enthusiasm for this voice.

When Lloyiso met Clean Bandit in South Africa, he reportedly began singing spontaneously during a writing session. Grace Chatto of Clean Bandit later said she had never heard anything quite like it. She recorded the melody and sent it to London. It eventually became “Believe”.

That song suits Lloyiso perfectly: it is about believing in yourself and choosing yourself, even when you have doubts.

Never Thought I Could

In 2026, his first full album finally arrived: “Never Thought I Could (Part 1)”.

Seven songs, just over 21 minutes, and that voice again.

Rain. Higher. High. Fragile Things. Scary. Fade Away. Lost & Found.

The album tells of self-doubt and new beginnings, relationships that may not be able to work right now, letting go and finding yourself again.

The title has a second meaning, too: Lloyiso had to find his own way to make and release music as he feels it, rather than as others would like him to sound.

Incidentally, “Part 1” offers more than just hope: Lloyiso has since confirmed that Part 2 is already finished.

Just keep listening

Normally I would pick three or four songs at this point and suggest you give them a listen. With Lloyiso, I will not do that.

Listen to Seasons. Listen to the new album. Listen to “Believe” with Clean Bandit. Listen to “Real Love” with Martin Garrix. And if that is still not enough, simply keep going. Really, you should hear everything he has done.

What stays with me

That one goosebump moment

I will not promise that you will like every song. Music is far too personal for that. But I will venture another promise: sooner or later, that one moment arrives. That voice. That particular passage. And then you will have it too: your own Lloyiso goosebump moment.