Two years after the multi-award winning 'Conversations With the Unseen' comes Soweto's second album. How's this for a synopsis; it's part one of a two-disc concept package based on the stories of 3 fictional characters living in a run-down flat block in Birmingham. Former Newsreader Moira Stewart acts as a narrator. Oh, and Soweto spends half his time rapping and the other half playing saxophone. Intrigued or put-off? Well, read on anyway.It does make for quite a baffling read for those who haven't heard his work, just because it's such an ambitious album concept. Kinch is, however a very impressive saxophonist and lets the jazz songs really aquire a certain wistfulness amongst his blistering sax work. Which acts as a total compliment for his impressive narrative-rapping-storytelling style. There's nothing brash about his delivery, just a confidence, uniqueness and grasp of a totally different lyrical content which really sets him apart from anyone in the rap/hip-hop field.
High points for me, if I have to seperate them out are the stunning '10.30 Appointment' in which one of the album's characters, named 'S' visits the benefit office and has a disagreement about jobs with a Brummie employee (both voiced by Soweto himself). Also 'Adrian's Ballad' sticks out, a slow moving mid-life crisis sort of jazz song (come on, we all know them) with a ridiculously catchy sax refrain and the closing groove of 'The House That Love Built'.
It's very different to his previous album; there's more rapping and the jazz songs are a good amount shorter. However, this feels like a definite step up for the man, and quite simply it's a pretty daring, ambitious and incredible record. For sceptics, you can hear 4 songs from the album over at www.myspace.com/sowetokinch.
3 comments:
Moira has always been a class act and secretly very cool - unlike her screen persona.
I wished to make no statement to the contrary! She always seemed pretty ghetto to me.
Just heard this. I guess if you looking for a jazz album, you;d be disappointed because the rapping does very much outweigh the jazz, though there is some splendid playing there. Having said that, I really enjoyed it - it's clever, down-to-earth and holds your attention. Remember rock operas? Well, perhaps the concept has been updated.
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