You can't get more London than Rukhsana ‘Rox’ Merrise. True to form, she makes music in a home studio close to Hammersmith where she grew up, with the same producer (PRGRSHN from Parallel) she's worked with from the off. 

After years of being a songwriter for hire, her own enlightenment came when putting together the ‘September Songs EP’, which came out for free on Soundcloud. She'd set herself a target to make one song every week for a month and release it. It was during this time that she found her guitarist whilst watching a gig – and the pair began working together on the EP. Communion signed her on the strength of numbers such as the finger-picked 'So They Say' about forging the path you believe in, and 'See You Again', a more urgent track featuring earthy sliding guitar.

Lyrically, Rukhsana is a reticent voice for her generation. “I just wanna be the truest representation of myself. I'm not trying to be a torchbearer.” She has supported James Bay, Jack Garratt, Laura Mvula and Leon Bridges – an indication of her unique approach to melding genres and sounds old and new to create something that fits her own individualism. Rukhsana is currently working on her debut LP - from which we’ve already heard the brilliant single ‘Money’.