Hannah Williams & The Affirmations release empowering new album that’s good for the soul

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday⁣.

Franco-Iranian-Egyptian artist Lafawndah released her first EP four years ago on prestigious electro label Warp. She's since been perfecting her gorgeous mix of traditional and electronic music and is back this week with her second album "The Fifth Season". She tells about some of the influences that contributed to the making of this new offering and the nine-minute short feature film that was used to accompany it.

Eimear Quinn shot to fame in 1996, winning the Eurovision award for Ireland. Since then, she's gone on to have a successful music career, touring all over the planet. She recently released her fourth solo studio album, "Ériu", an orchestral record of Irish music.

Róisín Murphy has always straddled the line between full-blown popstar and underground queen. Whilst maximalist pop may currently be serving superstars like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa, Róisín has always kept it edgy. Her new album "Róisín Machine" comes after the singer-songwriter kept busy during lockdown writing her next album and putting on live performances for her fans. We caught up with the Irish native to find out more about this album packed with dark disco anthems. Plus, we take a look at new tracks by Dizzee Rascal and Metz.

Some 24 years ago, American alternative rock band The Eels released the song "Novocaine For The Soul", leading them into music charts across the world and making them hot favourites among indie lovers. Over the years they've continued to craft beautiful, sensitive pop songs and rock out on tour. Although live shows may be on hold for now because of Covid-19, the band are this week releasing "Earth To Dora": a thirteenth studio album which features their trademark melancholy pop tones as well as cheerleading bangers. We caught up with frontman Mark Oliver Everett, aka E, to find out more.

He's an illustrator, film director and visual storyteller but Woodkid is best known for his haunting musical style, with tracks like "Iron" and "Run Boy Run" establishing him as an intriguing new voice nearly a decade ago. This architect of audiovisual art experiments went on to provide creative services for Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey before returning to personal projects in 2016.

Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald first rose to fame in 2007 when she was just a teenager composing in her bedroom. She went on to tour the world and sell millions of records and has just released her fifth studio album, "The Human Demands", which explores the pressures we put on ourselves and others as well as the pitfalls of love. We caught up with her to find out more.

Katy J Pearson nearly gave up on music and songwriting after being burnt out by a major record label which had picked up the band she'd formed with her brother when she was in her late teens. Luckily for us, the urge to make music overruled all of this and she took her time to write "The Return", a debut solo album filled with American pop and lo-fi folk. Marjorie Hache caught up with her to find out more. We also check out new music from Wizkid, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Petit Biscuit.

K-pop sensation BTS hold a press conference as they release their highly anticipated new album to a deluge of fan excitement and acclaim.

France-based American jazz trumpeter Hermon Mehari has released a powerful second record called "A Change for the Dreamlike". Recorded in the French countryside during the first lockdown, it's more personal than his 2017 debut record "Bleu". He describes it as a "modern mixtape of dreams". Mehari drew inspiration from his childhood in the American Midwest as well as his family history. He tells FRANCE 24's Florence Villeminot about the track "A Conversation with My Uncle", where he plays along to a story his uncle tells about his father escaping Eritrea.

The Starboy hitmaker has listed the career-spanning collection on his official website, with a release date of the 5th February.

Have you listened to Joe Boyofficial's debut album Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic? In this chat with The Guardian Life, he reveals his favorite track off SBBM, do you agree with him?