Bleep

Duval Timothy packs a lot into his new single ‘Slave’/‘Like’. This is unsurprising - anyone who has heard any of Timothy’s previous output will know that this is an artist who approaches his craft with great nuance. Much like what we heard on Timothy records like 2018’s 2 Sim, both of the tracks here bring together sounds from a variety of genres - spiritual jazz, solo keyboard work, lo-fi hip-hop, musique concrete - with impressive aesthetic rigour.

‘Slave’ is the most immediately striking of the two tracks here. Beginning with a passage of ruminative post-bop piano in the vein of Horace Tapscott’s solo work, Timothy soon introduces the layered vocals of Ibiye Camp singing the word ‘slave’. The contrast of the violence of the term with Camp’s beautiful harmonies is both evocative and unsettling, and it paves the way for a spoken-word passage (you’ll have to listen to find out who is talking) which ruminates on the deeply freighted positions musicians find themselves in when signing away their creative property to record labels. It’s a hugely thought-provoking work.

Things unfurl a little on the B-side featuring Vegyn ‘Like’. Vegyn’s off-piste style of beat programming underpins some gorgeous chords and synth textures, but as was the case with ‘Slave’ the track becomes more complicated when vocals enter. Here, sampled speech is chewed up, becoming a stuttering anti-lead that struggles for expression. The overall effect is not dissimilar to the early work of Yves Tumor and Coby Sey.

Duval Timothy’s new single ‘Slave’/‘Like’ manages to tackle complex ideas about race, intellectual property and the transatlantic slave trade while also delivering a pair of gorgeous, haunting post-jazz soundscapes.