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Event Description
An exceptional, vital release from an enthralling new voice in British music...
Yussef Kamaal are shaped by the sound of London. Growing up in the capital, they frame jazz within the bass-saturated, pirate radio broadcasts of the UK capital. The pair, made up of Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu), have had little in the way of formal training. Instead, their musical tastes – and approach to playing – are indebted to Thelonious Monk’s piano as much as the drum programming of Kaidi Tatham.
Comprised of keyboardist/producer Kamaal Williams and drummer Yussef Dayes, the duo are rhythmic improvisation incarnate. Taking their cues from ‘70s jazz-funk refracted through the bass-heavy sounds of London club culture, the pair have recently released their debut LP, 'Black Focus'.
Dayes has mentioned the importance of core jazz principles of spontaneity and flow when it came to recording 'Black Focus', and on a first listen this is definitely apparent. The record lays down a consistent soundscape of gently streaking strings morphing into the buzz of Williams’ synths, all whilst Dayes’ frenetic afro-jazz and junglist drum beats rumble beneath, keeping the tracks moving along. Both musicians also bring their work in previous projects to the table as influences: Williams’ releases as Henry Wu can be heard in his masterful synth palette and melodic choices, whilst Dayes’ work as drummer for the cosmically-inclined jazz group United Vibrations can be heard in his frenetic breakbeats.
Tracks on the record may feel like unfinished sketches as the listener is dropped into grooves that fade in and out from each other. Yet, the consistency with which this choice is exercised still makes the album feel like a seamless progression of an idea from start to finish. Variation nestles within the forward movement of the record: opener and title track ‘Black Focus’ lulls the listener into its West Coast groove, whilst ‘Strings Of Light’ incorporates a synth-string progression over Dayes’ afrobeat and a wash of celestial keys. Single ‘Yo Chavez’ also expresses the quieter side of Yussef Kamaal, pairing a gentle Rhodes line with soft brushwork to create the eerie atmosphere of an MF Doom instrumental. It is this generic melding which characterises the pervading influence and ultimate beauty of jazz; at times indefinable or inexpressible, the finest of the genre braids sound to create boundless depth.
Jazz is best experienced live and with 'Black Focus' Yussef Kamaal have captured the unpredictable and at times fragmented intensity of the live experience on wax. This is the kind of record that inspires new listeners to explore unfamiliar sounds and musical histories; the kind of record that bodes very well for the future of British jazz.
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Venue Information - The Sugar Club
"It's a venue to die for. Wood panelled walls, plush banquette seating and a pristine sound system render the rest of Dublin's night-life cruddy in comparison."The Irish Times
After opening in 1963 The Irish Film Theatre closed its doors in 1985. It would be another 14 years before the space would be used again and so it was in August 1999 that The Sugar Club was born.