A household name in the UK jazz world, Canadian-born, UK-based trumpeter, DJ and composer JAY PHELPS teams up with Birmingham MC Simon Jnr ‘Through The Clouds’. It’s the second single from his forthcoming album ‘The Now’, releasing via Platoon in partnership with Black Lives In Music.
With a career spanning 20 years, Phelps has performed as a sideman with some of the world’s top names, including Amy Winehouse, George Benson and Wiz Kid. His work as founding member of award-winning contemporary jazz group Empirical in the late 2000s garnered international acclaim, an early precursor to the explosion of UK jazz that has since followed. As a bandleader, he’s explored multiple styles, threading together the jazz language and tradition with contemporary influences, always with one eye on the future.
His status as an innovator and enabler on the UK jazz scene has seen him host regular shows on Jazz FM and Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, and draw praise from The Guardian, Jazzwise and London Jazz News.
The forthcoming LP ‘The Now’ brings together a cross-generational collective of musicians. It’s a journey from the underground, club-centric UK jazz scene, through to the house-filled streets of Detroit and progressive sonics of LA. Phelps continues on his mission as a connector of dots, bringing together multiple generations of musicians at the forefront of the UK’s jazz scene, including David Mrakpor (Blue Lab Beats), Tom Ford (Chris Dave, Reuben James) and Nicola Guida (Secret Night Gang). The record draws inspiration from hiphop, G-funk and broken beat, with Phelps and co weaving between styles through
conversational improvisation, thoughtfully crafted melodies and a combination of vocal and horn-led arrangements. Continuing with the west coast vibe explored on lead single ‘Finding Centaurii’,
‘Through The Clouds’ invokes shades of Anderson Paak’s jazz-fuelled soul-funk. Phelps’ playful muted
trumpet is paired with Ruta Sipola’s flute in conversation with Mrakpor’s vibraphone, with the instrumental finely balanced against Simon Jnr’s lyrical flow, setting an inspirational tone of breaking through and looking past adversity.
“I wanted the catchy melody to be traded around the band, as it’s the largest ensemble featured on the entire album. Simon Jnr came through and provided the lyrical masterpiece, which tied in perfectly to the themes I wanted to convey on the instrumental.” -Jay Phelps. Have a listen to
‘Through The Clouds’ below…
Song of the Day: Jazz Bar – Otysee
Independent composer and recording artist OTYSEE made his solo debut in 2019 with the single ‘Almond’. That track introduced a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist producer from Germany who deals in laid-back grooves. His mostly instrumental tunes mix elements of jazz, pop, and hip-hop into laid-back lo-fi vibe.
Since his debut, the prolific producer has amassed a remarkable volume of work. In less than four years, otysee has released four full-length albums and over fifty singles. Growing up in a musical household, the young artist learned to play a number of instruments. Prior to launching this current project, the multifaceted musician collaborated on a number of projects and worked as the drummer in a rock band.
‘Jazz Bar’ is the latest single from otysee, released last month via all major streaming services. A wah-wah electric guitar introduces the track as the beat drops on a downtempo jazz-hop groove. Piano, bass, drums and guitar accompany the soloist, conjuring images of a smoky late-night cocktail lounge.
Check out ‘Jazz Bar’ below….
Written by The Static Dive
YKB Releases ‘Yusful Music’ EP
Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, singer-songwriter YKB is transforming the sound of Afropop. Taking his real name Oluwo Yusuf Gbolaga, he has created the title ‘Yusful Music’ for his debut EP.
YKB has carved a lane for himself with his vibrant artistic vision and refined execution highlighted on the five track EP, which features the already released ‘San Siro’ and ‘Bo Card (Things I Need)’ with a combined 1.5 million streams on Spotify. Lead track ‘Komplete Riddim’ is an upbeat fusion with rhythmic patterns and afrobeats blended with an R&B feel to it, with the lyrics highlighting YKB’s incredible vocal range and soft pitch.
Across the EP, with other tracks ‘Pressure’ and ‘Traffic’, YKB delivers with soul and passion, with a sense of urgency and emotion reflecting the afropop roots in African Folk Music. YKB has carved a lane for himself with his vibrant artistic vision and refined execution.
Speaking on ‘Yusful Music’ he says, “That’s all I’m trying to do, transform feelings into sonics. And to do that on the highest level, as best as I can.”
With an ever-evolving sound, he has inducted himself into a new league of artists emerging from the African continent. Have a listen to his seductive EP below…
Must Listens: pressure, bo card (things i need), traffic
OUT TODAY: Listen to LT’s EP, ‘Out the Trenches’
Port Harcourt bred singer/songwriter, LT‘s his first body of work ‘Out The Trenches’ documents the past three years of his life. A seven track, soulful, groovy, synth-heavy, rhythmic project, intentionally put together to showcase the outer-worldly range and drive he possesses as an artist.
Creating the majority of the project from a headspace of gloom, self reflection, and hunger, LT had to channel all these emotions, igniting light out of a place of darkness, hence the title Out The Trenches. LT’s scintillating range in songwriting, performance and cadence shines through on every track, affirming a thematic expression that characterizes a phase personally and artistically. Alongside creating a delicate sonic world that incorporates elements of R&B/Soul, Afrobeats, Trap & Reggaeton, owed to an impressive list of production collaborators, from Killer Producer, Abel Lead Us, Mazi Spice, Trizzy Beatx to other session vocalists and instrumentalists who added to the depth of the project.
Released today (2nd June), LT’s debut ‘Out The Trenches’ is a strong first impression by an artist tipped to go the distance. Have a listen to his collection below…
Must Listens: In Due Time, A Million Lies, My Ana
Song of the Day: Scream999 – Sola
London-based multi-instrumentalist/producer/vocalist SOLA‘s single ‘Scream999’, portrays a hauntingly beautiful sound, led by Sola’s captivating silky vocal, combined with an intense instrumentation and heavy drum tracks, perfectly capturing the song’s dystopian themes of information overload and desensitization.
Of the song, Sola shares: “’Scream999’ is a critique of the internet age. We’re constantly bombarded with information competing for our attention, which makes it easy to lose focus of what’s important. It’s about becoming desensitised to suffering, screaming into a void where everyone around is too distracted to notice or help. The video, directed by Rosino, tried to reflect the songs themes through filming in a dystopian setting, with the broken tv screens and distorted visuals representing the information overload technology has caused.”
‘Scream999’ follows on from Sola’s recent, romantic single ‘Abide In U’, featuring drums from acclaimed musician Moses Boyd which garnered support from the likes of CLASH, COLORS, Wonderland, BBC Radio London, Noctis Magazine, ENFNTS, Trench Mag, Dazed, BBC 1Xtra, BBC 6Music and BBC Radio 1 amongst others.
‘Scream999’ was released via Jamz Supernova’s label Future Bounce. Check out the video for single below…
New Lease Music 