Lizzie Berchie’s ‘Night Shift’ Sees Dreams And Reality Coexist

Rising British-Ghanaian artist Lizzie Berchie’s sound is reminiscent of neo-soul, R&B, jazz, and gospel, a sound which is refreshingly rich, and distinctly her own. Following her critically acclaimed EP Am I An Adult Yet?, which surpassed 10 million streams and earned praise from BBC 1XTRA, The Independent, and CLASH, Lizzie has continued to cement her place as a soulful storyteller.

In 2024, she opened for Noname on her UK/EU tour, performed at SXSW, and shared stages with Mahalia and Shae Universe. With honest candour draped across rich production, Berchie‘s latest offering Night Shift sees her embrace the grey areas of standing in dreams, but living in reality – touching on romantic longing, and personal growth, Berchie still handles the delicate subject with the elegance of a timeless artist in the making.

Night Shift is an ode to the hustle and constant  of independent artists that often live a double life, as they aim to balance their creative desires with the practical and harsh demands of everyday life. Caught between a mundane day job before transitioning to creative vessels in the evening, Night Shift shines the light on those who continue to work and dream after the sun sets. Unveiling seven new tracks, Night Shift  explores how the pursuit of happiness isn’t often filled with joy – but with the daily burdens that life bestows on those who desire something more.

Opening track ‘Pressure’ , produced by Yogic, is a jazz- infused track that embraces Lizzie’s honeyed vocals and serves as the perfect beginning to an open hearted manifesto about the life of a creative. Building up to a crescendo, Berchie sings about how ‘Eerything in this life will eventually align’ – full of hope, but simultaneously setting up the project to deal with dichotomies that the independent artist knows all too well, Berchie’s vocals are sure to carry us through.  

‘I Hope You Understand’ – produced by Hilts, is an introspective track where Berchie sings about putting herself first and finding her way and while doing so, having taking the ‘faster train’. Refusing to compromise, this track reflects the needs of a creative to trade in understanding so that their authenticity is able exist in all its fullness.

Wrapped in minor chords, Berchie’s voice embraces the social landscape of this project with ease, her vocal choices keeping the ear on edge with every track.  We leave ‘I Hope You’ll Understand’ with a sense of sympathy, expectant for the next song in which Berchie continues to narrate her reality.

‘Love Deep’, co-written by Berchie and South African singer-songwriter Filah Lah Lah,  speaks of the sweetness of absolute certainty – co-produced by Berchie herself alongside Hilts, and inspired by the likes of Jazmine Sullivan and Alicia Keys –  Berchie delicately navigates the realms of what it means to love deep  –  trust being at the core. Fusing elements from musical influences D’Angelo and Roberta Flack,  self assurance lie at the centre of the brief moment of introspection that this track provides.

‘Company’ sees the vast vocal agility of Berchie excersised. Sprinkling soulful adlibs within and around her vocal stacks with ease, she sings of a company that brings clarity and certainty.  ‘Moonlight’ goes on to takes us deeper, centring in on a sense of direction, as Berchie compares the feeling of waiting to following a light in the distance. 

‘Dance In Your Arms’, is a perfect penultimate moment in the sonical journey of Night Shift –   Berchie sings of letting go, and dancing in a lovers arms, with no cares for just a moment. Paired with saxophone trills and lush instrumentals, ‘Dance In Your Arms’ feels like the brief moment of peace that creatives often crave. Living between two worlds, night and day,  the track provides a peaceful sonical pocket that reflects pockets of times in which rest revives what was once worn and weary.

The gospel-tinged track ‘Happiness’ closes the EP with grace, a soulful hook in which Berchie reaffirms that happiness, something that exists ‘deep within her soul’, is something she has already found. 

This EP is a bittersweet sonical journey, which deals with the push and pull that many creatives deal with internally – whether they will make a head, or a heart decision. The last notes and moments of Night Shift linger like the warm glare of streetlights on the way home – echoing the quiet vulnerability of how it feels to navigate artistry. Darkness often surrounds the journey, yet one flicker of light can make all the difference, and that light can be found in this project. Night Shift is a project sonically constructed to take the form of an ode to those who live all day, and stay up all night, simply because they dare to dream.  Because Berchie knows ‘Joy will come in the morning’, she can get through the night, and she urges you too as well.