Tiwayo - I've Got To Travel Alone (Record Kicks) [Soul]

The Slow Music Movement
1 day ago
2 min read

The cover for Tiwayo's, "I've Got To Travel Alone" single showing Tiwayo in a flat cap and patterned coat looks into the distance. The background is plain. “Tiwayo Outsider” text is in bold yellow and red.

Born in Paris with a restless nature, Tiwayo is a soul boy through and through, you can sense the ghosts of the twentieth century soul greats looking down from above approvingly, and his debut album, The Gypsy Soul of Tiwayo was quite the statement. His follow up, Desert Dream didn't hit as hard with it's folkier, more country got soul sound that felt oddly commercial in places and which probably did his trajectory more harm than good. For the new album though he's hopped on a plane over to Adrián Quesada's Austin studio and remembered what he does best - digging deep inside for those raw soul vibes. I mean even the cover on his forthcoming album looks the business, and he's teamed up with the discerning Record Kicks label to lend a hand, everything appears to be well in order this time round.

Tiwayo in a black jacket and cap stands before a graffiti-covered wall, looking serious. The background is urban with bold, abstract patterns.

I'm an old soul boy, but my latter years have seen me become less nostalgic and focussing more on more forward looking nu-soul, eschewing the oldsters and youngsters aping those classic sounds which, let's face it, will never be bettered. Saying that there's a few new cats that as soon as they open the mouth you can hear the difference, and Tiwayo's new single hit me right between the eyes.

It certainly helps that he had the support of Jay Mumford on drums, Terin Moswen Ector on bass, backing vocals and congas, Joshy Soul's keys and backing vocals, Adrian Quesada on guitar and general oversight and Alexis Buffum's strings, with the respected Will Grantham engineering. They've all worked with a who's who of modern soul and funk artists, and Tiwayo was obviously a natural fit, and the crew have squeezed/eased (delete as applicable) every last inch of soul out of him.

Kicking off with a hip hop sampler's dream drum rhythm, church rooted backing vocals and a classic piano motif, a vintage scene circa '69 is immediately set, perfect for Tiwayo's raw, bluesy soul vocals - you can imagine his eyes closed and face contorted -possibly even tearful behind the microphone as he relays this tale of life's ups and downs. Throw in some perfectly judged strings that add some grace and even more emotional heft without overpowering this great tuen and Quesada injecting a second half blue guitar flourish and you've got quite the tune. The band are tight and Tiwayo delivers big time, if I told you the track was fifty years old you wouldn't argue, and there's no greater soul compliment than that. Put the album's February 6th release date in your diary, I have.