XOA / WAY WEST / レコード

Gentleman's Dub Club のメンバーでもあるマルチ・インスト奏者 Nick Tyson によるプロジェクトXOA の新作!! 70年代アフロビート黄金期サウンドをベースにアナログ・シンセやギター、パーカッションをオーバーダブし、現代のクラブ仕様にアップデート!! 昨年大ヒットしたDJ KHALABなど、UK クラブシーンでのアフロ音楽解釈という文脈でもコレは一つの帰結。FOR DJs 案件!



* PVもイイです!


OVERVIEW: XOA, led by London based producer and musician Nick Tyson, is set to release debut album ‘Way West’ on 14thJune via Five Easy Pieces.
XOA means to look outwards; to draw inspiration from many sources. ‘Way West’ is alive withthis: steeped in the rich analogue sonics of the past, the warmth of machines and influence fromthe sounds of London’s fervent music scene. Featuring a blend of contemporary electronicproduction and live instrumentation, 70s Afrobeat inspired drums and cosmic melodies are thrustinto the present day with strong cues from house and techno. Three vocalists contribute across the album, with Tyson choosing to work with singers he has apersonal admiration and friendship with. Hollie Cook, known to many for her ethereal pop tingedreggae, delivers a sumptuous contribution on ‘Heartland’, adding a beautiful emotional dimensionto the horn led track. Lulu Jones’ vocals are treated more as a sample for the garage tinged ‘CallOn Me’ and Ruby Wood, of Submotion Orchestra, has worked with Tyson over a number ofprojects and their shared love of 90s soul comes to the fore on the laid back grooves and sunkissed ‘Only One Thing’.
“When collaborating, especially with vocalists on melodic and lyrical ideas, it’s important to havethat personal connection and respect for each other’s craft. That’s why I never ask vocalists toprepare anything in advance for the tracks, I like to get in the room and just see what happens inthe moment, to trust each other’s ideas, and for it to be a natural, organic and spontaneousprocess”.
Collaboration has always been at the heart of the project for Tyson. He plays the bulk of theinstruments on the album but invites Marijus Aleksa on drums to provide live energy, extra synthwork from Parisian Kenzo Zurzolo, and a notable Rhodes solo from Johnny Tomlinson (amember of Bonobo’s live band) on ‘Osu’. After well received releases on Soundway Records, Cin Cin (with Wayward) and Banana Hill(with Contours); ‘Way West’ shows another step up for Tyson as a writer and producer. “It feels like this project is coming alive for me, the music I envisaged in my mind a few years ago is being realised, and I’m proud of how it sounds”