{"title":"Nubiyan Twist","description":"\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eFormed in 2011 at Leeds College of Music, led by guitarist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Tom Excell. Drummer Finn Booth, Excell's childhood friend, joined when he began studying at Leeds, along with percussionist Pilo Adami, Excell's roommate with whom he shared a Brazilian-based ensemble. Original vocalist and MC Nubiya Brandon provided soulful and melodic vocals. The band is a multicultural and multi-ethnic collective featuring both Black and white members. Their expansive, eclectic sound seamlessly blends jazz, hip-hop, Afrobeat, Latin, soul, reggae, Indian classical music, gnawa, soukous, and electronic dance music. Their 10-piece live show features a four-piece horn section, two vocalists, electronics, and an international rhythm section.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eTheir 2015 self-titled debut on \u003cem\u003eWormfood\u003c\/em\u003e received strong support from jazz and hip-hop press, earning them support gigs with De La Soul, Hot 8 Brass Band, Quantic, and the Robert Glasper Experiment. In late 2018 they signed to Strut Records. In February 2019 they released \u003cem\u003eJungle Run.\u003c\/em\u003e In 2021 they released \u003cem\u003eFreedom Fables\u003c\/em\u003e, produced by Excell, featuring vocalists including Pat Thomas, Ego Ella May, Soweto Kinch, Ria Moran, K.O.G, and band members Cherise and Nick Richards. In 2024 they released \u003cem\u003eFind Your Flame \u003c\/em\u003eand in 2025 they released their fifth album \u003cem\u003eChasing Shadows\u003c\/em\u003e featuring new vocalist Eniola and collaborations with Fatoumata Diawara, Joe Armon-Jones, Patrice Rushen, The Pharcyde's Bootie Brown, M.anifest, and Mr Williamz.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"nubiyan-twist-jungle-run-2019-strut-records-2lp","title":"Nubiyan Twist - Jungle Run (2019 Strut Records 2LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNubiyan Twist - \u003cem\u003eJungle Run\u003c\/em\u003e | 2 x Vinyl LP - 2019 Strut Records (STRUT198LP)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNubiyan Twist formed at Leeds College of Music under the direction of guitarist and producer Tom Excell. By 2019, they were a ten-piece London-based collective whose second album for Strut Records drew in a cast of collaborators across four sides. The music moves between registers without announcing the changes — Afrobeat grooves, Ethio-jazz melodies, bossa nova phrasing, dub bass, hip-hop rhythms, and British soul vocals all appearing and receding without forced segue. Excell engineered and produced at Henwood Studio, the band's own self-built space in rural Oxfordshire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe guests define the album's outer ambitions. The late Tony Allen — drummer with Fela Kuti for seventeen years and one of the architects of Afrobeat — plays on \"Ghosts\" (D1), his drumming recorded separately by David Mestre. Mulatu Astatke, the Ethiopian vibraphonist who invented Ethio-jazz in the 1960s and 70s, plays vibraphone on \"Addis to London\" (C3), recorded by Oli Barton-Wood. Astatke can be heard at the start of the track saying \"It's gonna be a different sound, right?\" Vocalist Nubiya Brandon — whose departure after this album's release to pursue solo work was, in the band's own words, with their full support — sings on the title track, \"Brother,\" \"Permission\" and \"Sugar Cane.\" Nick Richards, K.O.G. and Pilo Adami fill out the remaining tracks. Frank Merritt mastered.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43425340817467,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a3402504973_10.jpg?v=1776319864"},{"product_id":"nubiyan-twist-freedom-fables-2021-strut-records-2lp","title":"Nubiyan Twist - Freedom Fables (2021 Strut Records 2LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNubiyan Twist - \u003cem\u003eFreedom Fables\u003c\/em\u003e | 2 x Vinyl LP - 2021 Strut Records (STRUT225LP)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNubiyan Twist's third album follows the same model as \u003cem\u003eJungle Run\u003c\/em\u003e — a large ensemble, multiple vocal guests, Tom Excell producing at their own Henwood Studio in Oxfordshire — but \u003cem\u003eFreedom Fables\u003c\/em\u003e is built around a tighter conceptual frame. Excell described it as being about the power of narratives: each vocalist brings their own story, and the album's musical palette shifts to meet them. The result is nine tracks that cover jazz, UK soul, Afrobeat, highlife, broken beat and hip-hop without settling into any single register.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCherise Adams-Burnett, the band's regular collaborator and Jazz FM Vocalist of the Year, sings on three tracks including \"Tittle Tattle,\" the album's lead single, and \"Keeper,\" the most openly jazz-structured piece on the record. Soweto Kinch — the UK saxophonist and rapper whose work sits between jazz and hip-hop — both raps and plays alto on \"Buckle Up.\" Pat Thomas, the Ghanaian vocalist who made his name with highlife guitarist Ebo Taylor, voices \"Ma Wonka\" in a sound the reviews described as indistinguishable from something recorded in Accra. Ego Ella May sings \"24-7,\" which BBC 6 Music playlisted and which became the album's most widely aired track. K.O.G., Ria Moran and Nick Richards round out the guest appearances. Artwork is by Emma Rodriguez. The album was mixed by Oli Barton Wood and Excell at The Premises.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Strut","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43425593884731,"sku":null,"price":60.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a2461085139_10.jpg?v=1776332151"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/nubiyan-twist.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}