Released:
Rating:
A defining statement for who Mura Musa wants to be.
Label: Polydor/Interscope Records
Released: 14th July 2017
Rating: ★★★★
Picture this. Late-night inner-city life, where the underground bars and bustling clubs are swarmed with a community of people all dancing and engulfed in a melting pot of culture, beats and styles. That exact image is the one painted across Mura Masa’s self-titled debut – an infectious voyage through jubilance and euphoria that lays itself out as a jukebox for which thousands will fall in love and dance together to. Varied, diverse and never sitting in one place for too long, it’s a defining statement for who Mura Musa wants to be, and in turn, marks itself as an album that we’ll look back on as one that not only soundtracks 2017 but defines it as a snapshot of a fresh sound.
The roll-call of names and voices involved all had their own unique twist to proceedings – whether it’s the hands-in-the-air pop bounce of Charli XCX on ‘One Night’, the visceral kicks of Desiigner on ‘All Around The World’, the hypnotic chimes and flicks of Christine & The Queens on ‘Second 2 None’ or the overflowing chills of Damon Albarn on closer ‘Blu’. Yet the star attraction above all of them is Mura Masa’s captivating corners and backdrops – managing to tow that line between sweet pop hooks and daring electronica in effortless fashion. ‘Nuggets’ could easily swallow up any dancefloor, whether that’s a 2am throw down or 4pm in a deserted festival field, whilst the likes of ‘Firefly’, ‘What If I Go?’ and ‘Love$ick’ remain as raw and immediate as they did when they first landed in the world.
More than anything, ‘Mura Masa’ is an album that deserves to be heard not by thousands, but by millions. It’s a confident record because it knows just how good it is. It’s the type of record that you could click play on at any moment, and immediately you’re engulfed in its dazzling world – no matter the mood or the moment. It’s the type of record that in five years time, other artists will be pointing to as a direct influence on what they do. Until then, get yourself ready and prepare to step out – the dancefloors are a-waiting, and Mura Masa is only just getting the party started. Jamie Muir
