A commanding vocalist with a dark electronic soul sound, Lulu James was born in Tanzania and was raised in the North East England town of South Shields. She appeared on "In Your Soul," a 2010 garage single by Aleks Zen, but it wasn't until she started to work with producer and fellow songwriter Dom Zilla, her music course tutor, that her voice reached full power. In 2012, she issued two slinking, entrancing singles: "Rope Mirage" (April, self-released) and "Be Safe" (November, Black Butter), the latter of which was produced by Hostage & Kidnap Kid. The following year, after signing to RCA in the U.K., James issued "Closer," a sleek dancefloor track. ~ Andy Kellman