Sam Akpro Announces 'Gauzy' EP Out Friday Oct. 30 on ANTI- Records
Peckham-born alchemist Sam Akpro announces his first substantial body of work since his acclaimed debut album Evenfall - a stunning document of his singular, prodigious talent - landed last year on ANTI- Records. It comes in the Gauzy EP, which lands this Friday, Oct 30th, and features new single ‘Gauzy’ as well as the recently released ‘Dusty’ and Akpro’s collaboration with TYSON on ‘Wayside’.
In celebration of the EP’s arrival, Akpro will play a special release show at The Greyhound in Peckham this Thursday, Oct 29th with support from Riot and the Ether and a DJ set from Kieran Dotwav.
Gauzy as a whole presents a snapshot of Akpro’s unbridled creativity over the past year since Evenfall’s release - a series of vignettes of an artist never resting and consistently pushing his singular sonic world in new directions. This is exemplified by the EP’s title track - released today - which pulls together soulful melodies from Akpro and guest vocalist HORNET, washes of shoegazing guitars and scuzzy lo-fi beats, creating an after-hours miniature symphony as ‘Gauzy’ carefully mutates across its three-minute runtime.
“‘Gauzy’ represents stepping into the unknown and dealing with the change that brings,” Akpro explains. “When I made the instrumental, it felt very transitional - as if each section was a different part of a TV show. The lyrics kind of follow that. The whole project is reflective of the last year, which has been a rebuild of some sorts.”
Listen to “Gauzy” and pre-save the EP here: https://samakpro.ffm.to/gauzy
‘Gauzy’ is joined on the EP by recent single ‘Dusty’ which opens with the sort of woozy, foreboding synths you could almost imagine soundtracking a ‘70s Giallo flick, before quickly morphing into a deceptively tropical, dub-laced burner. Atop it Akpro weaves dexterous vocal lines that lament wasted time and opportunities. On release it was accompanied by a beautifully shot video, directed by Dylan Coates, that perfectly evokes not just the bittersweet nature, but the sense of striving to move forward, that comes with breaking free of addiction.
Gauzy also features March’s ‘Wayside’ single, which featured a guest turn from London soul trailblazer TYSON. The single marked some of the richest production work yet from Akpro finding a nocturnal hinterland between trip-hop and neo-soul. It fuses off-kilter beats, washes of woozy bass and flashes of brass to Akpro and TYSON's alternating vocals.
Since its release last year, Evenfall has earned praise and support across the press landscape from the likes of Dazed, NME, Clash, The Face, Rolling Stone UK, MOJO, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, Uncut, So Young, Dance Wax, Dork, DMY and many more, as well as radio support including 'Death By Entertainment' reaching the A-list at BBC 6 Music alongside further support on the album's singles from Mary-Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Chris Hawkins, Nemone Metaxas and Tom Ravenscroft & Deb Grant on 6 Music, Benji B on BBC Radio 1 and Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1.
Evenfall - and now the Gauzy EP - both craft an immersive sonic world, rich in mood and atmosphere; a flowing tapestry of South London noir that's serrated yet dream-like, psychedelic yet pounding with intent. The common DNA between the two releases is their ability to pull music from all corners into their distinctive aural orbit, from post-punk pit-starters to dub-infused stompers, this is music for a genreless future where ambiance is king.