Alfa Mist Releases New EP Two for Mistake Out Now via ANTI-
Following the release of his exhilarating recent album Bring Backs, London-based producer, pianist, bandleader, and MC Alfa Mist today releases a new EP, Two For Mistake via ANTI-, with a physical 10” vinyl due for release on 18th March 2022.
Recorded live at Alfa’s studio session from London’s renowned Metropolis Studios earlier in 2021, the EP includes ‘Bumper Cars’ - an extended live version of the Bring Backs album track ‘Last Card’ - and a cover of Freddie Hubbard’s 1971 classic ‘First Light’.
Both tracks feature Alfa’s virtuoso band with the addition of a full-string quartet, taking the irresistible fusion of soulful grooves, new-jazz, and left-field beats to new heights.
The new EP arrives ahead of Alfa’s upcoming tours, which recently added further dates including his debut US shows, a full schedule for which can be found below. Please note that the November Newcastle show has been replaced with a date at Liverpool’s Kitchen Street. The run will prove to be the first time fans will be able to hear tracks from Bring Backs and Two For Mistake in a live setting.
Bring Backs marked Alfa’s first release for the label ANTI- and is also the most detailed exploration of his upbringing in musical form, one which has resonated with audiences to the tune of 8 million streams to date. The album’s nine tracks of groove-based intricacies, lyrical solipsism, and meandering fragmentations are tied together by a remarkable poem written by Hilary Thomas expressing the sensuous realities of building community in a new country. Entirely written and produced by Alfa, the album was recorded in London with a core band of longtime collaborators including Jamie Leeming (guitar), Kaya Thomas-Dyke (bass and vocals) and Johnny Woodham (trumpet).
Over the past 5 years, Alfa has steadily established himself as one of the most dynamic and consistent talents to emerge from London’s widely celebrated jazz reformation. Building on long-standing affiliations with the likes of breakout star Jordan Rakei, Alfa has always carved his own lane, following a distinctly outsider’s approach and free from the trappings of traditional musical training. Having arrived at jazz in search of samples for his teenage hip-hop productions, Alfa eventually taught himself piano by ear and quickly developed a unique style, with hip-hop rhythms driving throughout the improvisational forms, all bound by a pervasive sense of melody. His first three solo albums Nocturne (2015), Antiphon (2017), and Structuralism (2019) were all released on his own label Sekito, and were interspersed with countless collaborations and side projects, highlighting a prolific work ethic and true versatility across piano, rapping and production that has established Alfa at the centre of an amorphous cohort of talented musicians to emerge from London.