Rising Manchester-via-Birmingham artist LayFullstop returns with the soothing new single ‘Receipts’ ahead of her forthcoming STiR mixtape.
The uplifting track sees Lay acknowledging the positivity that faith has afforded her: “Receipts are proof of a transaction…” she says. “And God’s given me a whole load of goodness that I’ve never had to pay for.”
The hazy keys and woozy synths of the Superbeats-produced track highlight Lay’s eclectic taste – drawing from formative years spent around her dad’s house listening to Japanese jazz and funk fusion. Lay uses the warm soundscape to showcase her ability to flip from neo-soul to an intricate rap verse.
Accompanied by a visual courtesy of AIM Films’ Black Stone, ‘Receipts’ is the lead single from her forthcoming STiR mixtape, which is a reintroduction to a newly confident and creatively independent version of herself: “The EP is STiR because essentially it’s meant to stir something up in you, because that’s what happened to me,” she says. “I had to ask myself some really real questions.”
Over the past few years, LayFullstop has become a staple of the buzzing Manchester music scene. Since moving to the city at the age of 16, she began to carve out a space for herself, where jazz, soul and hip-hop collide. In 2018 she released her celebrated mixtape Colour Reaction as well as featuring on Manchester R&B duo Children of Zeus’ acclaimed debut album Travel Light.
A prolific creative, she continued to build momentum the following year with her 2019 Cherries EP, and A COLORS SHOW performance of its titular track. Her work garnered the attention of taste making publications including gal-dem, Clash, Notion, Trench, Line of Best Fit and London In Stereo. Following last year’s Off The Bench EP along with her Roots Raddix collective, the STiR mixtape sees LayFullstop returning proudly solo to execute her singular creative vision. ““It’s like a solution to a problem,” she says of the new release. “I’m making the music I’ve always wanted to hear, in a way it’s like I’m performing my own solution. Still being me, but being all of me.”