Nubiyan Twist : Chasing Shadows
So the last UK jazz record I wrote about for Treble was Kokoroko’s Tuff Times Never Last, a review I put together on the hottest day of 2025 here in the UK. In a welcome coincidence, the weather here has once again taken a turn for the positive over the last few days. I know, we’re already in the second half of March, but on this wet, frequently dreary island, we have to take the wins where we can get them.
I invoke these conditions because, like Kokoroko’s wonderful last album, Nubiyan Twist’s music just emanates glorious sunshine. Their blend of jazz, Afrobeat and hip-hop is a rich, colorful and vibrantly alive concoction, coursing with imagination and soul. One of the key acts to have emerged from the 2010s UK jazz explosion (check out this great book if you want to learn more about the scene), bandleader Tom Excell has crafted a project that feels simultaneously in communion with Black musical history and also coursing with modern ideas and energy.
On the band’s fifth album Chasing Shadows, these modern flourishes manifest in the form of its fabulously forceful sound design. To mention Tuff Times Never Last one more time, where that album possessed an ultra-casual approach, the 11 tracks of Nubiyan Twist’s new album feel far more calculated. Excell’s production is dynamic and precise. “Message” is an energetic jazz-reggae-rock banger, not a million miles away in vibe to the moshable transcendence of The Comet Is Coming. “Red Herring” possesses a beat in the vein of J Dilla or Flying Lotus, layered with sci-fi bass and subtle electronic bleeps, while “Threads” opens with Afrobeat drums that boom and clang like you’re searching unknown streets for a wild street party.
A host of impressive guest names add to the party atmosphere. An unexpected surprise is the presence of Pharcyde founding member Bootie Brown, who brings his charismatic rhymes to the album’s most hip-hop-aligned moment, “Red Herring.” Fellow London jazz king Joe Armon-Jones (a member of Ezra Collective and prolific solo musician) adds gentle keys and a tasteful solo to the unassuming closer “Rhythm Of You,” while “Message” is dominated by the hard patois-infused emceeing of Mr Williamz. All guest spots contribute to Chasing Shadows’ colourful, communal vibe; people creating without inhibition, all adding in their own experiences and perspectives to create something beautifully bigger than themselves.
The fact that this eclectic blend of voices doesn’t ever clash with the album’s meticulous sonic architecture makes for a thrilling dichotomy. Chasing Shadows is an explosion of musical ideas, a hot, sweat-drenched and lively party that never wears out its welcome.
Label: Strut
Year: 2026
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Nubiyan Twist : Chasing Shadows
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