Shelita isn’t the sort of artist that is easily categorised or pigeon-holed, not for her the confines of the genre game or pandering to expectations of a predictable, heard-it-before sound. Based between the cultural circus of Los Angeles and the sun-drenched Seychelles, she takes a myriad of influences, from genre and geography, culture and musical traditions, and stitches together via the medium of pop and R&B, and dance music something that takes the familiar and turns it into the forward-thinking.
Her latest release, Into the Depths EP, is a three-track affair which acts as a teaser for a full-length album of the same name, which is scheduled to arrive early next year. Think of it as a musical amuse-bouche before the sonic banquet—a taste that hints at just how sumptuous and varied the menu will be.
Opener “Bloom” is reggae as experienced through a pop prism: all the lilt and sway and groove and contagion you’d expect, but polished into a radio-ready and chart-bound sheen. It nods to roots tradition without ever getting stuck in nostalgia. This is accessible reggae moving into a pop-aware future. And a bright one at that.
“You Will Want My Love” might play the balladic card, but stops short of the usual obvious ambience. Instead, it slips onto the dancefloor with an, admittedly understated, clubland groove—a slow jam with just enough late-night pulse and honest heart rather than the usual helping of false sentimentality.
And then comes “Fade”—rounding things off in fine style. Slick, poised, and leaning confidently into future-pop territory, it’s the kind of track that reminds you that Shelita isn’t concerned with following trends or playing with fad or fashion, preferring to sidestep the obvious path and instead creating something that ticks boxes for both the discerning music fan and the mainstream pop picker alike.
