“The EP takes you on a journey of heartfelt confessions, pouring out from different relationship situations. Every song is a story about different aspects of love – the imaginary one you wish you had, the real one you never wanna let go of, the one that breaks your heart. It’s very relatable to each one of us – about the highs and lows of love, but also saying out loud things that maybe you would leave lingering in your mind.
“Set You Free” is about letting go of someone who has that special place in your heart. You love that person so much that you want what’s best for him but at the same time it hurts seeing him moving on.
“Wine Talks” was the unexpected one. I had a verse and didn’t have a clue what to do next. When I was at Boyan’s studio and we were discussing different projects and ideas, I just gave him the demo. When he returned his spin on the production I got really inspired and since I already knew what’s the story behind the lyrics, it just came out.”
Lina Nikol
Lina Nikol
Boyan
[ Key Achievements ]
- “Wine Talks” landed on New Music Friday UK
- “Set You Free” was added to New Music Friday Japan, aloe, Sugar & more
- Radio rotation on BBC 1 (Future Soul) & BBC 1Xtra (Everything R&B)
- Boyan was featured in CLASH Magazine on the instrumental scene rise in Bulgaria
- Lina Nikol was featured on BBC Introducing & JazzFM UK, as well as on Soultracks & You Know I Got Soul
- Aston Sellars, who’s on 2nd single “Set You Free”, is GRAMMY-nominated for Burna Boy’s Love, Damini album; he played guitars on Rod Wave’s “Close Enough To Hurt”, amassing 100M streams across DSPs; he’s a teacher in the renowned global platform Pickup Music
- A Mood Called “You” EP is co-released with legendary Japanese label SWEET SOUL RECORDS
- Project with Schweppes (Lina Nikol)
- #1 HypeM for Boyan’s “Valley of Roses”
- Best Singer at The R&B Awards ’21 Bulgaria (Lina Nikol)
- 3M+ streams across digital platforms
- live performances in the UK & Bulgaria
- previous collabs with American soul singer Frank McComb (Lina Nikol)
- featured on Apple Music’s BEATstrumentals editorial (Boyan)
- featured on TIDAL’s Rising Electronic editorial & In The Loop (Boyan)
- featured on 18K+ independent playlists on Spotify combined
- sold out vinyl (Boyan’s Closure EP) with support by HHV.de and Vinyl Digital in Germany
- featured on Bandcamp’s New and Notable (homepage)
- featured in Best of Chill list on Qrates Vinyls (Boyan)
- radio rotation on SBS Chill (Australia), Radio Nula (Slovenia), and Bulgarian National Radio
- supported by independent curators like Indie Shuffle, Sidekick, The New LoFi, College Music, Axel Tanner (1M on TikTok), The Jazzhop Cafe, CloudKid, Souletiquette, Chill Beats Music, freshgoodies, Hip Dozer, Thissongissick.com
[ Praise ]
- “Our attention now turns to a burgeoning scene hailing from Bulgaria.” – CLASH
- “Lina Nikol’s raw storytelling abilities are sound. In other words, Nikol clearly knows who she is.” – SoulTracks
- “A blend of smooth jazz and fresh sounds, reminding us of the 90’s contemporary R&B/Neo-Soul scene.” – YouKnowIGotSoul
- “Driven by admiration for one of his biggest influences – J Dilla, Boyan has created via Morning With Her a sonic journey channeling his emotions.” – Sidekick Music
- “a weekly fix of incredible music and give artists the opportunity to be free from their musical boundaries” – The New LoFi
Lina Nikol & Boyan – A Mood Called “You” EP
[ Schedule ]
Dec 15th – “Wine Talks”
Feb 22nd – “Set You Free” w/ Ashton Sellars
March 30th – A Mood Called “You” EP
[ Genres ]
r&b, neo-soul, soul
[ Similar Artists ]
NAO, Sinead Harnett, Jorja Smith, H.E.R., Syd, Mahalia
[ Artist Bio ]
Lina Nikol is one of Bulgaria’s finest r&b/soul vocals. Recently, she relocated to London & already had several live shows in the UK. Her latest singles landed on New Music Friday UK/Japan and got airplay on BBC Radio 1/ 1Xtra & Soho Radio London, and “Set You Free” features virtuoso guitarist Ashton Sellars (GRAMMY-nominated for Burna Boy’s album, collab with Rod Wave). Her sassy vocals, sweet runs, and tender storytelling can evoke deep emotions and make you connect with her on a personal level. In 2018 Lina Nikol and American soul singer Frank McComb introduced their duet song “All I Need” which was reviewed by the highly acclaimed sites You Know I Got Soul and Soultracks, and became part of the “So Soulful Collection” Vol. 3 – a UK compilation, featuring independent soul artists. In 2021 Lina Nikol released her full-length album titled “Who I Am” and won the Best Singer Award at The R&B Awards ’21 (Bulgaria). A Mood Called “You” EP is her 3rd release with Stereofox, which will be co-released with the legendary Japanese label SWEET SOUL RECORDS.
Hailing from Bulgaria’s capital Sofia, Boyan Angelov is one of the driving forces behind the local instrumental scene. Inspired by soul, funk and future beats music, the producer has over 10 years of experience when it comes to crafting soulful and touching beats. In addition, Boyan is a resident DJ in a few of Sofia’s vibrant clubs like Caroussel and SODA. Besides his beat moniker, the artist is part of the drum & bass duo LQ whose music got on the radar of the notorious UKF channel in 2018. Boyan joined the Stereofox label family in 2019 and started solidifying his presence in the international scene with his debut Morning With Her EP. With more than 1.5M streams and a sold-out debut vinyl campaign worldwide, the producer is entering new uncharted waters. He was also part of the acclaimed Bulgarian Beat Wave compilation, featured on CLASH Magazine, BBC 1, KCRW & more.
[ Release Info ]
With features in CLASH, BBC 1, KCRW, Soho Radio & Spotify’s New Music Friday UK/Japan, frequent collaborators Lina Nikol & Boyan join forces for a sultry new r&b/neo-soul EP A Mood Called “You” – with smooth vocal runs and slick production.
Based on personal experiences and revolving around different relationship situations, the 4-song project is full of heartfelt confessions about life & love’s ups & downs.
First single “Wine Talks” was featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday UK and got airplay on BBC 1 (Future Soul) & BBC 1Xtra (Everything R&B). The sultry piece elaborates on the perception of the kind of love & passion that everyone craves, whether admitting it or not. “In reality, you might fall madly in love with that person or be very disappointed”, Lina Nikol shares, “but in your mind, there are no limits – it’s the escape space where feelings and imagination take over and that special someone is exactly what you want them to be.”
Second single “Set You Free” features London-based, NZ-born virtuoso neo-soul guitarist Ashton Sellars (GRAMMY-nominated for Burna Boy’s album, played guitars on Rod Wave’s “Close Enough To Hurt”, amassing 100M streams across DSPs).
Co-released with legendary Japanese label SWEET SOUL RECORDS.