Biography
Nubiyan Twist operates as a genre-fluid musical collective conceived in Leeds yet headquartered in London, with guitarist and producer Tom Excell directing its course. Their sound fuses soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop, reggae, Indian classical music, gnawa, soukous, and electronic dance music into expansive, eclectic statements. The ensemble typically numbers ten to twelve musicians, centering on vocalists Nubiya Brandon alongside saxophonist Nick Richards and percussionist Pilo Adami, augmented by a four-piece horn section, live electronics, and a sizable rhythm section that fuels commanding performances from intimate jazz clubs to expansive dancefloors and festival stages. Strut issued the group’s 2019 sophomore album Jungle Run, which showcased contributions from Afrobeat drum legend Tony Allen and Ethiopian jazzman Mulatu Astatke. Following several 2020 and early 2021 singles such as “Tittle Tattle” featuring Cherise, “Buckle Up” featuring Soweto Kinch, and “If I Know” featuring K.O.G., the collective delivered the full-length Freedom Fables in March 2021. Their third album, Find Your Flame, emerged in 2024.
Tom Excell assembled the band in 2011 at the Leeds College of Music with a circle of musicians. Over the next four years they refined their material through shifting lineups and any available engagements during the rise of twenty-first-century cross-hybrid music scenes. The self-titled 2015 debut on Wormfood drew favorable coverage from jazz and hip-hop outlets and secured opening slots with De La Soul, Hot 8 Brass Band, Quantic, and the Robert Glasper Experiment; the record also prompted a companion remix album. A year later they released the five-track Siren Song EP, followed in 2017 by the Dance Inna London/All the Pieces EP, whose A-side included a Supercat vocal and remixes from Dem Juju Poets and Renegades of Jazz, while the B-side carried versions by Wonky Logic and Voyeur. Throughout this period Nubiyan Twist sharpened their live presentation at home and abroad, building visibility within London’s and Europe’s active scenes until David Byrne invited them to perform at the 2017 South Bank Meltdown Festival he curated. Late in 2018 they joined the Strut roster, issuing Jungle Run in February; the album extended their reach into Asia and the Americas alongside Europe. Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM championed the project, the band recorded a three-hour in-studio session for label head Quinton Scott that DJ Morning Mari later named album of the week, and the music received extensive airplay on French, Belgian, German, and Swiss stations while charting on global streaming platforms.
In 2020 the collective returned to the studio, releasing singles that included “24-7” featuring Ego Ella May, “Tittle Tattle,” “Flow” featuring Cherise, and “Buckle Up” featuring rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch. Excell produced the resulting nine-song album Freedom Fables, issued in March 2021, which drew from jazz, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and U.K. soul while spotlighting vocalists throughout and adding Ghanaian musician Pat Thomas plus pianist and songwriter Ria Moran. After European tours the group reentered the studio in 2022 to record and issue the charting single “Through the Noise,” then spent much of the following year performing across the United Kingdom and Europe. Late in 2023 they resumed recording with notable guests: Nile Rodgers contributed guitar to “Lights Out,” Seun Kuti supplied saxophone and vocals on the driving “Mother Carry Me,” Ria Moran sang on “All the Same,” and Malian vocalist Mamani Keïta appeared on closing track “Slow Breath.” Find Your Flame was released in May 2024.
Tom Excell assembled the band in 2011 at the Leeds College of Music with a circle of musicians. Over the next four years they refined their material through shifting lineups and any available engagements during the rise of twenty-first-century cross-hybrid music scenes. The self-titled 2015 debut on Wormfood drew favorable coverage from jazz and hip-hop outlets and secured opening slots with De La Soul, Hot 8 Brass Band, Quantic, and the Robert Glasper Experiment; the record also prompted a companion remix album. A year later they released the five-track Siren Song EP, followed in 2017 by the Dance Inna London/All the Pieces EP, whose A-side included a Supercat vocal and remixes from Dem Juju Poets and Renegades of Jazz, while the B-side carried versions by Wonky Logic and Voyeur. Throughout this period Nubiyan Twist sharpened their live presentation at home and abroad, building visibility within London’s and Europe’s active scenes until David Byrne invited them to perform at the 2017 South Bank Meltdown Festival he curated. Late in 2018 they joined the Strut roster, issuing Jungle Run in February; the album extended their reach into Asia and the Americas alongside Europe. Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM championed the project, the band recorded a three-hour in-studio session for label head Quinton Scott that DJ Morning Mari later named album of the week, and the music received extensive airplay on French, Belgian, German, and Swiss stations while charting on global streaming platforms.
In 2020 the collective returned to the studio, releasing singles that included “24-7” featuring Ego Ella May, “Tittle Tattle,” “Flow” featuring Cherise, and “Buckle Up” featuring rapper and saxophonist Soweto Kinch. Excell produced the resulting nine-song album Freedom Fables, issued in March 2021, which drew from jazz, hip-hop, Afrobeat, and U.K. soul while spotlighting vocalists throughout and adding Ghanaian musician Pat Thomas plus pianist and songwriter Ria Moran. After European tours the group reentered the studio in 2022 to record and issue the charting single “Through the Noise,” then spent much of the following year performing across the United Kingdom and Europe. Late in 2023 they resumed recording with notable guests: Nile Rodgers contributed guitar to “Lights Out,” Seun Kuti supplied saxophone and vocals on the driving “Mother Carry Me,” Ria Moran sang on “All the Same,” and Malian vocalist Mamani Keïta appeared on closing track “Slow Breath.” Find Your Flame was released in May 2024.
Albums
Singles
