New artist: Beth Rowley

There's been a glut of UK female singers since the success of Amy Winehouse, and the best of the follow-up bunch seems to be Bristol-born Beth Rowley.

A graduate of Brighton's Institute of Modern Music, the 26 year-old fell under the tutelage of former Young Disciples vocalist Carleen Anderson. Her voice is unmistakably warm, rich, and soulful, betraying her childhood gospel/church roots and the many years experience she built up as a backing singer. The music she writes shows a variety of mid-to-late 60s influences: McCartney-penned Beatles songs, Motown and Atlantic soul, and the folk of Carole King and Emmy-Lou Harris. In 2007 she came to the attention of Universal's jazz imprint Blue Thumb, who sent her into the studio to record Little Dreamer, an album of original tracks alongside gospel standards like 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' and a rendition of Willie Nelson's 'Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground'. "I'm so obsessed with blues and soul", she says, "Whenever I sing, I close my eyes and think of Al Green".

The video for recent single 'Oh My Life' is below. Hear Beth on Myspace here. Beth's debut album 'Little Dreamer' is out on Monday the 19th, and can be purchased from Amazon here.