Joseph Lawrence has a voice to live for.

Mainlining his childhood passion for the greats he’d study like other kids study footballers (for Pele, read Hathaway; for Messi, see Cooke), then learning at the knees of the young lions of the contemporary jazz/electronic scene (notably his producer Fryars and Dave Okumu), the singer-songwriter from Suffolk has created a remarkable, stop-you-in-your-tracks fusion of burning blue soul, spare orchestration, broken beats and modern British gospel.

All this topped with lyrics – anguished and triumphant, pained and soothing – that scour his own heart and plunge directly into the listener’s. And all delivered by a near-monastic dedication to his craft. Lawrence wears his emotions, like his myriad tattoos, on his sleeve. Nothing is coy or half-hidden. All is full of love, and all on full display. With this brand-new artist with age-old talents, all, already, is there.