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. 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 launched with the first 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)’ – the new single out now. 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 ‘On and On’ featuring Saffron Grace, which could provide Blue Lab Beats’ first major crossover moment.
The collection is bookended by two previously released tracks. The first full song ‘Hi There’ kicks off proceedings with the air of a summer road trip, while ‘None Of That’ brings down the curtain with a jazzy twist on West Coast hip-hop. ‘Voyage’ is available now from HERE.
NK-OK (age 20) and MR DM (age 25), first met as teenagers at WAC Arts community arts centre in NW London before progressing to Tomorrow’s Warriors – a jazz-focused community initiative whose hub at the Royal Festival Hall has nurtured many of the artists on the burgeoning London scene. They released their debut EP ‘Blue Skies’ just two years later before dropping ‘Xover’ early in 2018 as the two releases picked up radio support from the likes of GillesPeterson, Toddla T and HuwStephens.‘Xover’ topped the UK Jazz Chart and reached Top 10 in Jazz charts in a further 26 countries. A big moment in their career came when their life-affirming Jazz FM live session went viral with over 500,000 views.
Blue Lab Beats’ reputation also exploded beyond their own scene as they were invited to remix tracks from pop heavyweights Dua Lipa and Rag‘N’ Bone Man. Live shows have included the Glastonbury, WOMAD, Blue Note Jazz and LoveSupreme festivals, and they’ve supported Kiefer,Thundercat, Roy Ayers and Mulatu Astatke.
Blue Lab Beats will celebrate the release of ‘Voyage’ with a London headline show at Omeara on November 8th. For further information on all live dates click HERE.
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