Andrew Ashong - Andrew Ashong EP

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  • A favourite of both Gilles Peterson and Theo Parrish, Andrew Ashong has some serious backing behind him. After debuting on Sound Signature last year (collaborating with Parrish on the effortlessly soulful "Flowers"), the Ghanaian singer has had fans waiting with bated breath for his next move. With a smoky jazz sensibility that wouldn't sound out of place on Eglo, his follow-up EP, Special, proves he's no one-hit wonder. The title track is a humid torch song, floating with languid guitars and unquantized drums that sound like something Parrish might play. Ashong's vocals tend to waft by in a fragrant cloud, recalling the wispy psychedelia of early Verve (imagine an R&B-influenced Richard Ashcroft). The funkier "Never Dreamed" is the EP's standout, with chunky fretwork that punches through the haze. The layered vocal shows off Ashong's impressive range, but "Love The Way" takes the trick even further. Crafting a doo-wop ditty with choral voices and careful drums that gently increase in pressure, it's a work of remarkably intricate build-and-release. If there's one criticism that could be levelled at Special, it's that the tracks don't fall far from the same tree—but when they sound as sweet as this, how could you complain?
  • Tracklist
      A1 Special A2 Never Dreamed B Love the Way
RA