Black Focus is the only studio album by English duo Yussef Kamaal, composed of drummer Yussef Dayes and keyboardist Kamaal Williams. It was released on 4 November 2016 under Brownswood Recordings. Characterised by its "spontaneity and flow", the album draws influence from electronic music of British origin. It received universal acclaim from music critics, being described as having a culturally diverse palette.
In 2017, when Yussef Kamaal were scheduled to perform in the United States, Dayes' visa was revoked under the Trump administration and the duo broke up shortly afterwards. The album experienced moderate success in the United Kingdom, reaching number 13 on the Jazz & Blues chart. It earned Yussef Kamaal the Breakthrough Award at the 2017 Jazz FM Awards. In 2018, Williams released his debut solo album The Return, which was considered a sequel to Black Focus.
Background and development
In 2008, keyboardist Kamaal Williams met session drummer Yussef Dayes when Williams held his first event, where the band United Vibrations were booked and Dayes played. The two kept in touch and played together on occasion, but upon rehearsing William's solo work for a Boiler Room gig, they started playing as a band. In 2016, the band performed a 20-minute live set at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards, after which Peterson landed them a deal at his Brownswood Recordings record label. Yussef Kamaal recruited additional musicians for Black Focus, including saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, trumpeter Yelfris Valdes, bassists Tom Driessler and Kareem Dayes, guitarist Mansur Brown and producer Malcom Catto, who "work[ed] by ear" when recording the band "as opposed to having things programmed in", according to Williams. The album was recorded at Quartermass Studios. Calligrapher Haji Noor Deen wrote the band name in Arabic on the album cover.
Regarding the title Black Focus, Dayes stated that it was "based of a few things. The Black Focus is your typical South London car. We’d be in the studio looking for an idea and see it outside[…] And I think black culture’s been appropriated in a way, but […] people don’t stand up for it. What we’re making is black music, inspired by jazz. People can interpret that title however they want."
Composition
Thom Jurek of AllMusic classified Black Focus as "a seamless weave of spiritual jazz funk, broken beat, and global sounds", with influences from "distinctly British sources its creators grew up on -- jungle, UK garage and grime, hip-hop, post-Joe Harriott British jazz, and the sound of underground radio". Kalia Ammar of Clash wrote that the album has "a consistent soundscape of gently streaking strings morphing into the buzz of Williams' synths, all whilst Dayes' frenetic afro-jazz and junglist drum beats rumble beneath". He continued, saying that the duo "captured the unpredictable and at times fragmented intensity of [jazz being played live]", as Dayes expressed maintaining the album's "spontaneity and flow" within the core principles of jazz. Ammar also compared Black Focus to the earlier works of Williams as Henry Wu and Daye's drumming with United Vibrations.
The first half of the opening title track features spoken word, accompanied by horns "amid twinkling Rhodes and hand percussion". In the second half, kit drums are introduced to "frame a bumping bassline, a two-chord jazz keyboard riff, and horns that move to a post-bop frontline". "Strings of Light" is a breakbeat influenced track with synth-strings aided by horn breaks of "exploratory urgency". "Yo Chavez" has "a gentle Rhodes line", paired with "Dayes' brushed, skittering snare and kick drum accents". "Lowrider" is a snare drum heavy funk track that is topped by "vamping guitar chords, and swirling synths", which progress into "a 21st century take on Azymuth-esque fusion". The song "Mansur's Message" was said to have "bottom-heavy funk without overstaying its welcome", according to Ryan B. Patrick of Exclaim!. The final track, "Joint 17", showcases Yussef Kamaal's "canny polyrhythmic interplay" as its breaks and basslines frequently switch to keyboards that play "soul-tinged fills and runs".
Release and reception
Black Focus was released on 4 November 2016. The album did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 13 on the Jazz & Blues album chart in the United Kingdom. On the Belgium Ultratop Flanders chart, it entered at number 91.