The debut full-length release from Werkha – real name Tom Leah – has been a long time coming. Previous EPs and singles have been lauded by the likes of BBC 6Music, Gilles Peterson, John Kennedy at XFM and myriad other places.
This fusion of afrobeat, jazz and techno finds itself unleashed on a very much ready and waiting musical public. An enviable position for an artist to find themselves in as they release their debut album, certainly, but worth almost nothing if the songwriting and execution of the vision behind the project do not match up to the hype.
Happily, this is a mature and inventive take on a sound which has been in danger in recent times of becoming trite and passé. The combination of Bryony Jarman-Pinto's lush vocals and a satisfying string arrangement elevate 'Dusk' above the level of the ordinary, as the fusion of acoustic and electronic instrumentation works a treat. 'Fallin' Through the Wall' has a sumptuous funk groove, while another Jarman-Pinto collaboration, 'Sidesteppin'', takes the best elements of the soulful work of Lianne La Havas and allies them with a delectable synth bass figure.
This ability to hold soulful pop and bona fide trip-hop and funk beats together is something which marks Werkha out as an emerging talent of huge promise; promise which is already being realised. This is no esoteric dance music for the aficionado alone.
As the ricocheting rim shots of 'Highwaves' push and pull with foreboding synths and a bass riff to die for, it becomes clear that this is music which defies classification or lazy comparison. Werkha is not just blurring genre boundaries, he's creating new subgenres of his own. All power to him for that. This is a challenging, yet intensely satisfying listen.
7/10
Words: Haydon Spenceley
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