After six years of singles and EPs, an exciting and eclectic debut by the London-based Nigerian artist Steven Umoh with a highly original mix of hip hop, gospel, jazz, afrobeat, electronica, soul and a wide-ranging voice from rasping gruff to sweetly soulful falsetto. Aided by multi-instrumentalist and producer Barney Lister, Obongjayar’s vocal range is in evidence right from the off in opener Try, which has an indefinable mixture of electronica beeps, soulful bass lines with brass flourishes, and that soft and raspier delivery. Message In A Hammer has a wonderfully funky oddness with a dancebeat, Parasite is more squiggly electronica morphing into funk with a soulful sound, while the title track is a quiet, intimate, almost ghostly number, and Wrong For It, with guest Nubya Garcia is a playfully whistling, wistful, arrhythmical soul number, draped in jazz saxophone. Other standouts includes the afrobeat-style Tinko Tinko (Don’t Play Me For A Fool). A wonderfully original release. Out on September Recordings.
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