Greentea Peng

With her breezy, hypnotic vocals, Bermondsey’s Aria Wells uses the alias Greentea Peng to build smoky soundscapes and spiritual anthems, lacing her music with genre-spanning influences and a hazy approach to contemporary neo-soul. Her genre-hopping debut album, Man Made, arrived in 2021, followed by the 2022 mixtape Greenzone 108.
Taking her name from a box of Green Tea Seng she bought in Peru (and adding “Peng” for a splash of U.K. charm), London’s Aria Wells began her musical career while staying in Mexico. After performing Lily Allen’s “Smile” at an open mic, she was picked up by local band Los Hedonistas, with whom she toured in 2015. Upon returning to her London home, she set to work on a debut EP, releasing woozy singles like “Moonchild,” and “Loving Kind” in early 2018. With her wide range of influences, and layered, drifting vocals, Wells crafted the first taste of her self-described “psychedelic R&B” — the full EP, titled Sensi, arrived later that year, folding influences including dub reggae and hip-hop into her smoky, introspective sound.
A placement on up-and-coming platform COLORS proved a turning point in Wells’ popularity, boosting her 2019 single “Downers” to international audiences — and bringing with it a multi-million streaming boost to her catalog. This attention carried through to her second EP, RISING (2019), a further shift toward psychedelic, electronically charged instrumentation. In 2020, Wells used her voice to address her country’s tense sociopolitical landscape: “Ghost Town” lamented London’s changing identity, while “Revolution” channeled reactions to the unrest in her home country. By 2021, Greentea Peng was ready to make a statement, and she issued her full-length debut, Man Made, that June. The record found her pushing her horizons even further, incorporating greater influences from jazz and contemporary hip-hop. Greenzone 108, a psychedelic rock-influenced mixtape, appeared in 2022. ~ David Crone