There’s something reminiscent of so many eras of soul music’s history in the auditory aesthetic of Kwaku Asante. The London vocalist and songwriter brings in tow the low vocal delivery of a modern, British Barry White, the textural affinity for Seal-inspired 90’s instrumentation, and the songwriting ability of emotive and sensual legends stretching from Marvin Gaye to modern-day California soul child, SiR. A month ago, Asante released, Molasses – a particularly sexual ballad that gave glimpse into an aesthetic lane we hadn’t yet seen from him. And today, with the release of Primrose, Asante returns to his bread and butter. The single is built on floaty, effervescent chimes and is backed with a female vocalist that offsets the depth in his own voice. In combination with his knack at painting an image of walking through a sunlit park with a loved one, the sunshiny instrumentation of the track turns all of Primrose into one of the most timeless, positivist soul explorations of the year. 

 

With a collection of recent singles, it seems as though Kwaku Asante is working towards something larger. So, keep an eye and an ear out for what is bound to be another London Neo-Soul project changing the greater direction of the world’s music.