Singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Dave Okumu has worked with countless artists since heading up The Invisible who scored a Mercury Prize nomination in 2009 for their debut album. Working closely with Jessie Ware, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Amy Winehouse, Tony Allen and Rosie Lowe, he has built a portfolio of enviable quality.
His latest endeavour finds him as the figurehead for an album that is set to be released in an unusual fashion. Entitled I Came From Love and due to arrive on April 14th, it will be presented in a series of musical chapters (EPs to simplify matters). The first of these is You Survived So I Might Live and it contains the first four tracks of the album.
The first single “Blood Ah Go Run” is about the New Cross fire that killed 13 young Black people on January 18, 1981 and began a series of uprisings caused by the institutional racism that plagued the Metropolitan police force and society at large. Aiming to encapsulate the mood among the Black community at the time it features the refrain: “Blood ah go run / if no justice no come” set to a spiky, punk-funk sound that bristles with discontent and righteous ire.
There is also a short film to accompany the opening chapter of this intriguing project that adds further dimensions to an already powerful piece of art. The album that Okumu himself described as informed by “my actual ancestors, the ancestors of others, my musical ancestors and my descendants” features Wesley Joseph, Kwabs and Eska. But lurking on the final track of the album is the indomitable Grace Jones. If appetites hadn’t already been whetted by the music and visuals of this opening chapter, then her presence alone should do that.
PRE-ORDER I Came From Love via Dave Okumu’s Official Store
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