Bring Backs

by Alfa Mist

Overview

On his fourth full-length, 2021's genre-melding Bring Backs, British pianist and rapper Alfa Mist showcases his vivid, enveloping mix of jazz, R&B, classical, and hip-hop. The album follows 2019's Structuralism, which appeared on Mist's own Sekito label. For Bring Backs, Mist moved to the Anti- label, a shift that finds him further expanding his evocative brand of organic, hip-hop jazz. A largely self-taught pianist, the East London-reared Mist plays in a laid-back, harmonically nuanced style informed by '70s jazz and fusion, '90s hip-hop, and modern electronic production. Mist brings this cross-pollinated aesthetic to Bring Backs, crafting tracks that feel inspired by vintage Lonnie Liston-Smith or George Duke recordings, but with a keen, contemporary ear. Helping him achieve this vibrant, earthy sound are his bandmates, including Jamie Leeming (guitar), Kaya Thomas-Dyke (bass and vocals), Jamie Houghton (drums), and Johnny Woodham (trumpet). The opening "Teki" is a languid fusion number built around a sparkling guitar arpeggio that Leeming expands with a knotty, Pat Metheny-esque solo. Equally compelling is "Run Outs," a dreamy, trap beat groover punctuated by Mist's astral keyboard flourishes and space alien sax and trumpet lines. No less expansive is the otherworldly "Mind the Gap," a woozy slow-jam rap duet between Mist and Lex Amor that brings to mind '90s, "Rebirth of the Slick"-era Digable Planets. More grounded is "People," a lyrical and folky R&B ballad in which Thomas-Dyke's yearning vocals are framed by woody guitar, percussion, and orchestral accents. Strings, flutes, and other classical sounds pop-up throughout the album, as on "Last Card (Bumper Cars)," a lush, midtempo number whose reedy, trumpet and sax harmonies recall Gil Evans' work with Miles Davis. Mist's classical inclinations take full form on "Once a Year," a brief, yet languorous chamber piece that, as with all of Bring Backs, underlines his wide-ranging taste. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	04/23/2021
Label:	Anti-
UPC:	0045778778911
Rank:	30495

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alfa Mist   Primary Artist,Vocals,Synthesizer,Piano (Electric)
Richard Spaven   Drums
Hilary Thomas   Vocals
Sam Rapley   Sax (Tenor),Clarinet (Bass)
Jamie Houghton   Drums
Peggy Nolan   Cello
Junior Alli-Balogun   Percussion
Kaya Thomas-Dyke   Vocals,Guitar (Bass),Featured Artist
Rocco Palladino   Bass
Johnny Woodham   Trumpet
Lex Amor   Vocals,Featured Artist
Jamie Leeming   Guitar

Technical Credits

Ed Deegan   Engineer
Will Holland   Mixing
Guy Davie   Mastering
Simon Trought   Engineer
Alfa Mist   Composer,Producer
Kaya Thomas-Dyke   Artwork