London duo Blue Lab Beats have been taking jazz into the stratosphere with a futuristic melting pot fuelled by hip-hop, Afrobeats and electronica. The joyous, celebratory nature of recent releases ‘Vibe Central’, ‘Lipstick’ and ‘Hi There’ have inspired a fresh wave of radio support from a range of influential fans who have joined their journey: Huw Stephens at Radio 1; Phil Taggart, Goldirocks, Jamz Supernova and Moses Boyd at 1Xtra; Jamie Cullum at Radio 2; and a playlist at NME Radio. Plus Blue Lab Beats were asked to feature in a new APPLE ADVERT alongside Stormzy, Skepta, Mark Ronson, Paul McCartney and more.
Now Blue Lab Beats drop the new track ‘On and On’featuring Saffron Grace from their eagerly anticipated second album ‘Voyage’, which will be released on October 18th via AllPoints / Blue Adventure.
Nominated for The Digital Award at the Jazz FM Awards, producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM have produced a set which maximises the potential that they demonstrated with their debut album ‘Xover’
As an exploratory expedition through the sonic spectrum, ‘Voyage’ is aptly named as it thrillingly wields future sounds, the contemporary London scene and jazz’s rich heritage into a collection which is unmistakably the sound of 2019. As the scene-setting ‘Intro’ asserts, this is music to “connect your mind, body and soul.”
‘Voyage’ was been launched with the new single ‘Stand Up’ with features a triple-threat of brass extraordinaires in the shape of Kaidi Akinnibi, Sheila Maurice-Grey and Richie Garrison. It’s a track which has the Blue Lab Beats manifesto down to a fine art: it’s both experimental and immediately accessible, precise yet full of swinging groove, engagingly danceable but cerebral too.Those traits are defining features throughout an eclectic collection. Otherworldly pairing ‘Galactic Inferno’ and ‘Galacto Funk’ are early standouts, feeling like neo-soul tinged theme songs for as yet unmade sci-fi adventures, while ‘Ocean’ and ‘Memories’ possess more of a timeless flair.
Blue Lab Beats also get the best out of their varied vocal collaborators too, providing the perfect soundbed for Sampa The Great to deliver her distinctive vocals with ‘Next (Wake Up)’. Dropping the pace and darkening the tone on ‘What R U Here For’ also brings out the best from the featured artists: Nice The Guy’s rhymes fitting in perfectly alongside Jaz Karis’s luscious soul. Arguably best of all is the new single ‘On and On’ featuring rising singer- songwriter Saffron Grace, which could provide Blue Lab Beats’ first major crossover moment.
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