Sonder lean unabashedly into the emotionally raw R&B of yesterday, paying homage to their ‘90s heroes via stylistic similarities and savvy samples of hits past, while also presenting new takes on the intricacies of relationships. Vocalist Brent Faiyaz and producers Atu and Dpat formed Sonder in 2016, named after Faiyaz’s face tattoo representing the wandering nature of people, which also reflects the restlessness of the group’s creative directions. Sonder’s 2017 debut EP, Into, is a free fall into love, both in its beautiful and painful iterations; the project is highlighted by the amorphous, moody “Too Fast”, which touches just as much on romance as it does on the unpredictable circumstances of life. In 2018, Sonder released “One Night Only”, a sparsely produced song about a whirlwind of a tryst that sonically evokes the drums and aural attitude of revered Virginia beatmaker Timbaland. Sonder followed that single up with another in 2019, “What You Heard”, a track driven by haunting background melodies provided by Faiyaz, who sings matter-of-factly over Atu and Dpat’s swirling, dreamlike production. In fully realised projects and one-offs alike, Sonder embrace the work of their predecessors, using the past as a springboard to launch R&B toward the future, mapping a course that will influence artists to come.