Mercury-prize winning Edinburgh trio Young Fathers are back after a five year hiatus.Made up of Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and G. Hastings, the trio have announced details of their brand new album ‘Heavy Heavy’, set for release on February 3rd 2023 via Ninja Tune.
It’s the group’s fourth album and their first since 2018’s album ‘Cocoa Sugar’. The 10-track project signals a renewed back-to-basics approach, just the three of them in their basement studio, some equipment and microphones: everything always plugged in, everything always in reach.
Today sees them return with brand new single “Tell Somebody” – another beguiling, thickly textured chorale that adds to the growing mystique and anticipation for their forthcoming album. Denser and more cinematic than previous singles “Geronimo” and “I Saw”, the track proves another example of how Young Fathers so skillfully side-step any kind of musical orthodoxy – once the refrain of “Tell Somebody” takes hold, it builds and builds to a breath-taking climax.
To accompany the release, the trio continue their creative collaboration with 23 year old Austrian-Nigerian artist and filmmaker David Uzochukwu, allowing him to compliment the song with a visual that perfectly demonstrates the scale and expansive feel of the music.
Since the release of their two now-legendary mixtapes, ‘Tape One’ in 2011 and ‘Tape Two’ in 2013, the latter of which also won Scottish Album of the Year. Young Father’s have received acclaim from both fans and artists alike – receiving cosigns from the likes of David Byrne, Massive Attack, Idles, M.I.A, Florence Welch, Sam Fender, Janelle Monae, Self Esteem and Danny Boyle – the latter of which used 7 of their tracks and one unique composition for his sequel to Trainspotting.
Their last album ‘Cocoa Sugar’ entered the UK Album Chart Top 30, and won the Scottish Album of the Year Award in 2018, the second time Young Fathers have won. It was also nominated for Album of the Year at the Ivor Novello Awards and for Independent Album of the Year at the AIM Awards that year. Prior to this, Young Fathers released the Mercury Prize winning album ‘DEAD’ in 2014 followed by the seminal White Men Are Black Men Too in 2015.
A prolific live act – known for their electrifying performances that marked them as one of the most must-see acts operating today – Young Fathers have played in five continents and toured with long time collaborators Massive Attack, Florence + The Machine, LCD Soundsystem, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs to name a few.
