Photo: Glauco Canalis

Kamaal Williams aka Henry Wu had promised new music later this year, following the release of his improvised live album, Live At Dekmantel, back in February and now news of a new record have emerged. The South London’s multi-talented musician, one of finest jazz musicians on the UK jazz scene for a few years now, will release his new album, Wu Hen, on July 24th through Black Focus. With groove at the centre again, the album incorporates celestial jazz, funk, rap and R&B, as the press release describes, “reinforced with the beat-heavy attitude of grime, jungle, house and garage – a self-styled fusion Kamaal describes as ‘Wu Funk’”.

The man himself had this to say about the album’s themes:

“This is a revolution of the mind. A spiritual rebellion. To reach new heights requires separating ourselves from the material world and finding power in what’s intangible. That’s what music and art is for – whether it’s a primitive emotion or something deep, you feel it. And there’s a subliminal element that resonates throughout my work. If you’re painting, it’s what you’re feeling as you’re painting. And the person looking at that artwork or listening to that music, they can feel it too, because it’s sincere.”

Wu Hen saw Williams enlist the help of Greg Paul (of Kalayst Collective) on drums, Rick Leon James on bass, Quinn Mason on saxophone and Alina Bzhezhinska on harp, and it also features Miguel-Atwood Ferguson on strings.

Ahead of its release, we can already hear ‘One More Time’, serving as the first exhilarating single. Take a listen below.