Evoking the feeling of cruising along a sun-drenched, coastal Mediterranean highway in a sporty vintage car, Bianca James steps onto the scene with ‘Monaco’, making a bold impression with a slice of sublime retro pop. Lifted from her self-titled debut album out summer 2023, the vividly detailed, R&B-fuelled ditty dives into Bianca’s adventurous spirit ignited by her own travels, and of course, music.

On the release, Bianca explains: “’Monaco’ is the artistic embodiment of wanting more. It’s a fantasy about escaping the greyness of daily life, throwing your high heels in a suitcase and flying somewhere glamorous where you can be a wilder version of yourself.”

Produced by JUNO Award-nominated & Platinum certified producer Thomas McKay, Michael Bublé’s former musical director Gene Hardy on saxophone plus inspiration from 60s group The Ventures, ‘Monaco’ is a high-energy blast that captures Bianca’s daring notions, with references to Bond films and Hollywood screen star Grace Kelly.

For Bianca, music has always been a means of transforming heartbreak and pain into strength and freedom. “I don’t think I consciously wrote songs about empowerment, but there is a message of overcoming, of finding hope on the other side. That’s an undercurrent in all my songs,” she explains, adding that although she typically draws on personal experience in her songwriting: “My mission is to inspire others to live their life, and their dreams, to the fullest.”

Growing up in Montreal with her Italian father and mother of UK descent, Bianca James glamorised the wild, free lifestyle of the Italian and French Riviera and the swinging rock ’n’ roll scene of 1960s London. She was constantly singing, she adds, developing her voice by singing along to the classic records spinning on the family’s turntable. “I dreamed of living in London, driving to Paris or the south of France, and playing shows with a killer backing band. That’s the dream that built this album.”

Timeless is perhaps the best way to describe Bianca’s contemporary take on a truly classic, international sound – one that draws reference from American and British 1960s styles with a melding of elements of Motown, Soul, and modern pop. “I didn’t care about trends or what other people were doing. I wrote what I wrote and focused on making something earthy and organic sounding.”

‘Monaco’ is just the first peak into a world of heritage sounds crafted by the singer, with more on the way very soon…