Author: Aidan TullochYo peopledem… this one is a week late. Life got the better of me.
Anyway, hope life is good. Remember, work isn’t real.
‘ere we go.
Michael Kiwanuka – ‘California’
He's back again. That descending organ setting the scene, accompanied by heavy drums with bare reverb. I am a sucker for this. Then comes Kiwanuka's delicate delivery, letting us know what this track is going to do to us. His delivery across the album is super delicate. As if that wasn't enough, strings come in. Well, on a Kiwanuka album, it's mandatory at this point (as I have creamed over string arrangements previously). As we go through the track, the violins take a more prominent lead in the backing. Then we've got the staccato bowing coming in ahead of the chorus. You know, wasn't legato bowing enough?! Clearly not. All this building anticipation before the other elements jump back in. By the second chorus, we've even got horns accompanying the existing instrumentation, bringing another layer to the track. All this happening whilst Kiwanuka's vocals continue to mesmerise me.
Kiwanuka's delivery on this album is…. erm…. so delicate, have I said this already?
Score: 10/10
Gabriels ft. Say She She – ‘Break It’
See this beat. Coming like an Inflo beat. That walking bassline doing wonders as it enters immediately into the track, alongside some fucking groovy drums. The idea of two superpowers, Gabriels and Say She She, coming together is something we don't see enough of these days. They complement each other so well. This stateside link-up forms part of a wider Gabriels EP, out Friday 20th November 2026, with other features including Evita.
Score: 9/10
Joe Armon-Jones, Maxwell Owin & Footsie – ‘Interouternational’
Now, the streets needed this one. I've followed Joe and Maxwell's work for a while, dating back to their Idiom and Archetype projects, and actually watched them break down their production process a few years back. I remember being taken aback by just how real and organic the whole thing was. There's something mad about hearing a track and then understanding how it's been put together, especially when the intention isn't necessarily to make something great, but simply to create. So, listening to this for the first time, my body just felt their creative chemistry flowing - DUBBBBB. Then you've got Footsie, grime veteran, coming into the mix. Joe and Maxwell's production alongside Footsie's sound? Yeah, this is a link-up.
Score: 9.5/10
