SHAUN ROSS
Chances are you're familiar with Shaun Ross, even if his music has yet to grace your ears. A trailblazing model since the age of 16, he's appeared in the pages of GQ and Vogue, and fronted campaigns for the likes of Alexander McQueen and Fendi. Entering the fashion industry at a time of huge upheaval when it came to representation, the 29-year-old New York native helped change the game as an African-American man with albinism, swiftly becoming a figurehead for difference and acceptance. A sidestep towards music came via appearances in music videos by the likes of Katy Perry (ET), Beyoncé (Pretty Hurts) and Lana Del Rey (2013's short film Tropico), but 2021 represents Ross diving headlong into his chosen medium via his sumptuously atmospheric debut album, Shift. Flirting with disco, R&B, pop and ethereal cinematic soundscapes, and taking sonic cues from artists as diverse as Björk, Maxwell, serpentwithfeet, Moses Sumney and Seal, it's a 10-track odyssey that feels both deeply personal and hugely relatable. It's lead single, the tactile, delicately unfurling electropop of WX5, even chimes perfectly with the loneliness of our current situation; “The TV's a source of light and it's really watching me” Ross coos in a layered voice weighted in experience. It's a soft caress of a song, as opposed to a bolt of lightning. “Some people can be like 'you have to come hard out of the door', but I'm not worried about that,” Ross smiles. “I wanted to set the tone for what people will hear coming in the future. I'm a sensual person.”