Kamaal Williams (born Henry Wu, 1989) is a British musician and record producer. Williams rose to prominence alongside drummer Yussef Dayes in 2016 as one half of the short-lived London-based jazz group Yussef Kamaal following the release of the duo's debut album, Black Focus, which earned them the 'Breakthrough Act' award at the 2017 Jazz FM awards.[2] He released two solo albums under his record label Black Focus, including The Return (2018) and Wu Hen (2020). In addition to live instrumentation, Williams also releases electronic music under his given name Henry Wu.
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Williams was born as Henry Wu in 1989,[3][4] in Peckham, South London to a Taiwanese mother and British father who both worked as architects.[5][6] Growing up, Williams took an interest in learning Mandarin and Chinese calligraphy.[5] From an early age, Williams was involved with a number of creative pursuits. His interest in calligraphy, as well as his parents' involvement with graphic design, contributed to an interest in street art and graffiti culture, an influence which is reflected in the album art of later projects such as Black Focus and The Return.[5] Because of his mixed race, Williams struggled to connect with British culture, but was able to resonate with West African and Jamaican communities in Peckham.[1]
The duo released their only studio album, Black Focus, under the name Yussef Kamaal in November 2016. The album was met with critical acclaim. Clash Music described the sound as "exceptional, vital" and "enthralling";[12] whilst Canadian magazine Exclaim! described it simply as "dope".[13] The album was widely praised for its unique blend of sounds traditionally associated with jazz, hip hop and breakbeat music.[13][14] Williams revealed that large amounts of the album were improvised in the studio, and emphasised the importance of musical dialogue between the musicians in structuring the performances.[15][16] The album was engineered by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics and recorded at his studio in London.[15][17] Williams praised his "old school" approach to recording and crediting him with mixing two of the tracks on the album.[15]
Williams and Dayes collaborated for a brief and tumultuous period following the album's release. Shortly before embarking on a tour of the United States, the band were refused entry to the country after Dayes' visa was revoked in accordance with an executive immigration order implemented by the Trump Administration.[18] Several weeks later, the duo announced their split.[2] On his split with Dayes, Williams commented: "Nothing has really ended; it travelled into something new and fresh now."[11] From 2017 to 2020, Williams hosted a monthly radio show on NTS Radio as Henry Wu, playing a selection of music from his influences and associated acts in the London scene.[19]
In the years following, Williams established his own label, Black Focus Records.[5] Less than two years after the release of Black Focus, Williams enlisted the services of former bandmate and drummer Josh 'MckNasty' McKenzie and bassist Pete Martin to produce his solo bandleader debut, The Return. The album was recorded in the South London house Williams grew up in.[20] The album was recorded over the course of a week. Recording engineer Richard Samuels remarked that, despite having the opportunity to record in professional studios, the performance of the musicians in a familiar and comfortable environment was conducive to a "free flowing album".[20]
The Return was received as a "sequel" to Black Focus[21] and charted in the UK at number 63.[22] The album holds an aggregated score of 76 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.[23] The album was praised for its blend of genres, a sound Williams has called "a London thing".[21] Pitchfork praised the album for its sonic palette, and offered light criticism with respect to the brevity of some of the tracks.[24] The album peaked at sixty-three on the UK charts.[25] The release of The Return prompted Williams' first global tour, spanning across the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, with former bandmate Mansur Brown as support.[26] Brown would also be the second artist under Black Focus Records.[27] The staff of Mixmag ranked Black Focus Records as number one in its list of the Best Record Labels of 2018.[28]
The album was supported by the release of a music video for Salaam, the album's opening track.[29] The video was directed by Greg Barnes and was shot in Marrakesh, Morocco,[29] which according to Williams, "is a special place for me, [going there is] a huge inspiration for my work." Williams dedicated the album to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017.[30] Following the album's release, The Return was remixed by Snips with vocal samples from the Wu-Tang Clan.[31][32] The Return was nominated for 'Independent Album of the Year' at the 2018 AIM Independent Music Awards.[33]
Despite influences such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock, Williams has rejected the term 'jazz' being applied to his music, citing the "elitist" and traditionalist connotations it evokes.[5][10] He has instead opted to create music under the eponymous genre of 'Wu funk'.[36] Piotor Orlov of NPR said that "[Williams'] 'jazz' is grounded in post-Mwandishi Herbie Hancock, Bob James' "Nautilus" and J Dilla productions."[9] Williams has also listed Jamiroquai, Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, the 2001 album Execute by Oxide & Neutrino,[5] and his home city of London as influences on his music. Williams said that The Return represents all of London, in that the various contributors came from a diverse cross-section of the city's areas.[4]
Jason Kohnen (Mansur / The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble / The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation) returns to his experimentations within the realms of Darkjazz with The Lovecraft Sextet's second full length 'Nights Of Lust'.'Nights Of Lust' dives into the wonderful world of (seedy) B-movies and 80s teenage angst films. Inspired by the soundtracks of John Carpenter and Angelo Badalamenti. This time fusing Darkjazz with Synthwave to create a wonderfully unique mutant musical concoction. Think of the movie 'The Thing' located in a Twin Peaks scenery with an 80s setting. The remarkable artwork and its concept is inspired by the 50's 'Nights Of Horror' comic book series by Joe Shusters. The two new music videos for the album are part of a collaboration with Dutch filmmaker Kevin Kessels, using footage from the superb short film 'Alma'. 2ff7e9595c
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