KOKOROKO Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Brownswood and Kokoroko link through local Brixton, delivering on Tuff Times Never Last, the jazz collective’s newest LP. The 11-track LP is an uplifting exploration of life's dualities, weaving themes of community, sensuality, childhood, loss, and perseverance. The title draws from a viral meme of the same name, where co-bandleader Onome Edgeworth notes, “A lot of beauty comes out of difficulties". To have made one such collective mark on the London jazz circuit would definitely demand an appreciation of the fact of tough times going into developing one’s skill as a performing musician; and yet the sentiment of temporary tuffness is matched by nostalgic summer memories of London evoked on the front cover, while the album’s sound comes influenced by films like Crooklyn and The Wood, celebrating Black family and resilience, and incorporating British R&B, neo-soul, West African disco, and electronic experimentation.

Review: Kokoroko have been on all world music lovers' radars since their very first and very impressive EP on Brownswood back in 2018. Now we are treated to an expansive and adventurous debut album on the same label that sees the group build on their great early start. Could We Be More has been preceded by new single 'We Give Thanks' and draws plenty of inspiration from the highlife and jazz sounds of West Africa, the Afrobeat and psych-funk sounds of the 70s and plenty of modern broken beat styles. Each tunes swells with emotion and evokes good times.