Bleep

Teased across expansive live shows with a vast array of South London luminaries making guest appearances, the debut album from Speakers Corner Quartet has been a long time coming. Kwake Bass, Raven Bush, Peter Bennie, and Biscuit have finally come together to follow up on their lone 2009 EP Further Back Than The Beginning. Further Out Than The Edge makes clear the Quartet’s journey from Brixton house band for spoken word night to in demand collaborators with the likes of Dean Blunt, Wu-Lu, and MF DOOM, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better manifestation of musical community than this. Not only for the album’s breadth of features, but for the fact that all artists present orbit and converse with each other, glued together by their malleable yet recognisable sound, and a genuine sense of family and friendship.

‘On Grounds’ kicks things off, an introspective cut with a nascent dance beat evolving alongside atmospheric sizzles and scintillations. Compressed drum beats twirl with slick bass riffs on ‘Acute Truth’, and long, unfolding lines of cello from Kelsey Lu transform into complex and dextrous flair, plunging into the commanding bass plucks of ‘fix’ where Tirzah, with her effortless poise, sings matter of factly, “Pop the collar, get on top.” ‘Geronimo Blues’ takes a detour to the chaos of the world with Kae Tempest’s abstract, quickfire narrative, placing shimmering arrangements beneath their shattering words, while ‘Hither Green’ plays like a poetic, heartwarming voicemail in James Massiah’s measured delivery.

The long awaited debut from a celebrated group, Further Out Than The Edge cements Speakers Corner Quartet’s position as the through line of London’s 21st century sound.