Ever since Mr Jukes aka Jake Steadman of Bombay Bicycle Club released ‘God First’ in 2017 here at Runout we have been itching for the next release, thankfully August 2021 saw the release of a collaboration between Barney Artist & Mr Jukes. The release of the ‘The Locket’ is like a ray of sunshine in an otherwise poor UK summer, the 18-month collaboration between the two of them after their work on ‘God First’, and via their initial introduction on streaming service, Spotify with the ‘God Bless The Algorithm’ playlist has heralded a really feel-good piece.
‘The Locket’ is a feel-good masterpiece, especially after the dark 18 months the world has
faced we should all own a copy of this album to remind us that music and life do not always have to be an emotional rollercoaster of fear, despair, introspection, and sadness, as all too often happiness is neglected as one of life's most powerful emotional triggers.
The shared production, writing, and collaboration between Barney and Mr Jukes create a shimmering feel of jazz-infused hip hop with a London feel, the tracks move across sunshine-inflected, psych-felt, hip-hop flavour, with samples, beats, bars and the sort of old/new-school feel that zips from sepia-tinged to full technicolour across the album.
‘The Locket’ opens the album and succinctly gives you the feel that the album is aiming for; Mr Jukes laying down an exuberant, dusty brass sample and Barney Artist pirouetting over it with his effortless, rugged bars.‘Autumn Leaves’, and the gospel-tinged track, ‘Leave Us In Light’ provides a more than ample slice of the soul which Mr. Jukes had cultivated through his initial ‘Soundcloud’ tracks and on ‘God First’.
The tracks ‘Poems’ and 'Déjà Vu’ and their contemplative, summery sound that create a hazy warmth, and flicker with the feel of the 90s golden age of hip-hop stylings of The Native Tongues Collective.
The album is spattered with samples and if our subscribers are anything like us here at Runout we adore the crate digging involved in finding them, but thanks to Steadman and an interview we can tell our subscribers that it is Lou Bond ‘To The Establishment' which is the sample on ‘Poems’
So as the summer draws to a close and those longer darker nights head our way then take some time enjoy yourselves and make the most of the late summer sun with our curated record for September Barney Artist & Mr Jukes - ‘The Locket’. We hope you love this curated choice as much as we do.
Peace Out - Stu