PRE-ORDER: Kamaal Williams - Wu Hen LP (BLACK FOCUS)

Due in the crates August, to reserve a copy, get in touch

[via Vinyl Factory]

Producer and keyboardist Kamaal Williams is releasing a new album – Wu Hen – via his own Black Focus Records label this July.

The album’s title – Wu Hen – is a reference to the nickname Williams’ grandmother gave him as a child, with the LP itself exploring his lineage through themes of spirituality.

Wu Hen sees Williams uniting elements of jazz, funk, rap and r’n’b to create a style he refers to as “Wu Funk”.

The album was recorded with Greg Paul on drums, Rick Leon James on bass, Quinn Mason on saxophone, and Alina Bzhezhinska on guest harp, alongside contributions from Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Mach-Hommy, and Lauren Faith.

Wu Hen follows Williams’ installment of !K7’s DJ-Kick’s series in 2019, as well as – The Return LP.

Tracklist:

1. Street Dreams (ft. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)

2. One More Time


3. 1989


4. Toulouse


5. Pigalle


6. Big Rick


7. Save Me (ft. Mach-Hommy)

8. Mr Wu


9. Hold On (ft. Lauren Faith)

10. 
Early Prayer

PRE-ORDER: Steve Spacek - Houses LP (BLACK FOCUS)

Due out 28th of February, to reserve a copy, get in touch

After turning heads with recent releases from Kamaal Williams and Mansur Brown, Black Focus Records continue the South London tradition, but this time with a new album from the one of the originators – a triple OG – the legendary Steve Spacek.

Houses sees Spacek return to his Detroit influences with house music as its foundation, but as with all Spacek's releases it transcends genre and focuses more on feeling, melody and swing. There’s elements of jazz, R&B and soul interlaced within the DNA of his electronic music, alongside his signature falsetto vocals.

The album was produced entirely on an iPad and iPhone, an approach Steve champions and feels liberated by using technology to join the past with the present.

As part of Africa HiTech and in his career as a solo artist, Spacek has proven time and again that he is a highly capable operator on the dancefloor.

On Houses Spacek has constructed a collection of shuffling house delights for the rising Black Focus Records.

PRE-ORDER: Kamaal Williams - The Return LP (BLACK FOCUS)

Released May 25th on Black Focus Records

The Return is a natural evolution from the Yussef Kamaal project, mining the influence of visionary jazz but blended with all kinds of texture, sounds and signals from the over-saturated London streets. 

Notable tracks for old and new listeners are ‘Salaam', 'Situations', 'Medina', 'LDN Shuffle' which features Mansur Brown (of Mansur's Message) and for those die hard Yussef Kamaal fans - they should hear the interpolated roots of 'Strings of Light' in the title track 'The Return’. And that signature Wu Funk can be heard on 'Broken Theme', and 'High Roller'. 

The Return will be the debut album released on Wu's new label Black Focus Records.

Tracklisting

A1 - Salaam

A2 - Broken Theme

A3 - The Return

A4 - High Roller

A5 - Situations (Live In Milan)

B1 - Catch The Loop

B2 - Rhythm Commission

B3 - Medina

B4 - LDN Shuffle ft. Mansur Brown

B5 - Aisha