Described by NME as “one of London’s brightest young talents”, Tom Misch has already garnered for himself a glittering reputation for making beautiful music, with his debut long player, ‘Geography’, which absolutely glimmered in every aspect, from the songwriting and producing, right down to the guest performances (including De La Soul, Goldlink, and Loyle Carner, no less).
His follow up release, ‘What Kinda Music’, sees Misch collaborate with percussionist and experimental electronic musician, Yussef Dayes, who in his previous musical life was one half of Yussef Kamal, who skilfully blended jazz and pop. He also released the solo single, ‘Duality’, on which he was able to show off his musical versatility.
On ‘What Kinda Music’, Dayes takes Misch’s vision, and tweaks the shadowy parts of the music, those things that would otherwise remain hidden, and brings them out into the light.
In addition to Misch and Dayes, ‘What Kinda Music’ also features gangsta rapper, Freddie Gibbs, Kaidi Akinnibi on soprano sax, and Rocco Palladino on bass – the son of no less than Pino Palladino, known for his work with the likes of Paul Young, The Who, Gary Numan, and Jeff Beck – among many many others.
The title track is also the lead, and sets the pace for the rest of the album. Misch and Dayes are not beholden to any particular genre, in fact they could be said to be beyond genre; the song seamlessly blends hip hop breakbeats, synths, soulful vocals, and pop hooks a-plenty – it’s unconventional, to say the least, but it works.
Alongside the single’s release comes the video, whose story sees a young man entering the tube station, only for it to become a virtual forest, as plants take over. Like the song itself, it’s a mix of elements that don’t necessarily go together, but nonetheless in this song fit perfectly well.
You can watch the video below:
Find out more about ‘What Kinda Music’ from Tom Misch’s official website.
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