Name: Black Focus
Brand: Yussef Kamaal

Tax rate EU

Default:19

Supplier EU

Rough Trade

Total Cap

Format detail

Colour details

Discogs ID

Limited edition

Colour

Black

Format Music EU

Extended format

Extended format: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Download code

Download code: No

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Release date

2016-11-11

Format multiplier

Catalogue number

BWOOD157LP

UPC / Barcode

5060180322908

Black LP

BWOOD157CD

5060180322915

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Yussef Kamaal

Label EU

Genre EU

The band's name also appears in Arabic calligraphy on their debut release: يوسف كمال.
On May 3rd, 2017 it was announced through the band's official Facebook page that Kamaal Williams and Yussef Dayes would no longer be performing together under the name Yussef Kamaal. Instead, the music of Black Focus would be performed by two alternative line-ups, one led by Williams (Henry Wu presents Black Focus Live), and one led by Dayes (Yussef Dayes presents Black Focus). The remaining gigs were split between these two line-ups.

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The borders between London’s musical tribes have always been porous. For Yussef Kamaal, the sound of the capital - with its hum of jungle, grime and broken beat - has shaped a self-taught, UK-tipped approach to playing jazz. In the states, the genre’s long-running to-and-fro with hip hop - from Robert Glasper to Kamasi Washington - has reimagined it within US culture. On Black Focus, Yussef Kamaal frame jazz inside the bass-saturated, pirate radio broadcasts of London. Taking inspiration from the anything-goes spirit of ‘70s jazz-funk, on albums by Herbie Hancock or the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it’s a loose template with plenty of room to experiment. The pair, made up of Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu), have had little in the way of formal training. Instead, their musical tastes – and approach to playing – are indebted to Thelonious Monk’s piano as much as the drum programming of Kaidi Tatham.

Black Focus

Music EU

Discover Black Focus by Yussef Kamaal on Brownswood. Available in CD and LP formats. A fusion of London's musical influences with a fresh jazz approach.