Combining an array of influences — from London, to Paris via New York, Nigeria and Cameroon, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Neue Grafik has been building a strong rep for himself over the past few years, releasing records on labels such as Rhythm Section, 22a, CoOp Presents and Wolf Music.
His sound is a hybrid of jazz, house and hip hop, all with his unique geographical flavors of African ethnicity, Parisian roots and a love for London sounds like broken beat & grime thrown into the mix. Having been first properly introduced to the community of Total Refreshment Centre, home to London’s flourishing jazz scene, during an after-hours jam, it came to TRC founder Lex Blondin’s attention that Neue Grafik had some exquisite compositions of his own.
A few weeks later, it was decided that Neue Grafik would form a band — the Neue Grafik Ensemble (him on piano, rhodes and synths, Emma-Jean Thackray on trumpet, Vels Trio‘s Dougal Taylor on drums and Matt Gedrych from MaddAddam on bass) — and that they would do their first gig at the now-closed venue of TRC, a week after the first day of rehearsals. No pressure…
Then, the group got in the studio. « Foulden Road », the EP taken from those sessions, came out in 2019 and featured Nubya Garcia, Emma-Jean Thackray, Brother Portrait and Allysha Joy to name a few. Neue Grafik is now setting to release « Foulden Road Part II » — a new record entirely dedicated to Adama Traoré and Assa Traoré, their community and more largely to all Black people around the globe — due early 2022.
