Multi-instrumentalist Yussef Dayes releases his debut solo studio album, Black Classical Music, via Brownswood Recordings, Warner Music, and Cashmere Thoughts Recordings and in the US on Nonesuch Records. You can hear it and get it here.
“My debut album is an art piece that has been in the works since the beginning,” Dayes says of Black Classical Music. “Feelings of love, healing, grief, inspiration, more life, unity, groove, spirit, and travels. This album is the embodiment of my life to this point. For everyone that has supported my art or is discovering my music now, I am grateful to be able to share this with you. Thank you to my team and all of the collaborators for helping me bring this vision to life. Sharing vibes and sounds from the UK, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture, and African rituals. Black Classical Music is an exploration of my own personal journey and musical style.”
Yussef Dayes’ drum licks and Rocco Palladino’s bass are the anchors to Dayes’ nineteen-track debut solo studio album, aided by Charlie Stacey (keys/synths), Venna (saxophone), Alexander Bourt (percussion), and a host of features including: Chronixx, Masego, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Elijah Fox, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross, and the Chineke! Orchestra—the first professional orchestra in Europe to be made up of majority Black and ethnically diverse musicians.
Dayes returns to the States to perform songs from Black Classical Music this fall, starting at Warsaw in Brooklyn on November 16. See below for details and tickets, or visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
Yussef Dayes’ career is expansive and wide reaching; his rise can be first linked to the Afrocentric quartet United Vibrations, alongside his two brothers, Ahmad and Kareem, and saxophonist Wayne Francis. This was followed by the highly successful but short-lived duo Yussef Kamaal, with keyboardist Kamaal Williams. More recently, Dayes released Live at Joshua Tree, an EP presented by Soulection, and other solo releases including the live album Welcome to the Hills and Love Is the Message, which was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios.
His extensive list of collaborators includes talents across both music and fashion—from 2020’s Top 5-charting collaboration with Tom Misch, What Kinda Music (Blue Note), to an official remix of Pa Salieu’s “Frontline” on Wizkid’s Made in Lagos album to production for R&B artists Kali Uchis and Kehlani. Dayes had a special artistic relationship with the late Louis Vuitton innovator Virgil Abloh, who hand-picked him to soundtrack and curate a Louis Vuitton dinner show for Paris Men’s Fashion Week and invited him to perform at the Louis Vuitton Museum in Paris, among other collaborations.
BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC
1. Black Classical Music ft. Venna & Charlie Stacey
2. Afro Cubanism
3. Raisins Under the Sun ft. Shabaka Hutchings
4. Rust ft. Tom Misch
5. Turquoise Galaxy
6. The Light ft. Bahia Dayes
7. Pon Di Plaza ft. Chronixx
8. Magnolia Symphony
9. Early Dayes
10. Chasing the Drum
11. Birds of Paradise
12. Gelato
13.Marching Band ft. Masego
14. Crystal Palace Park ft. Elijah Fox
15. Presidential ft. Jahaan Sweet
16. Jukebox
17. Woman’s Touch ft. Jamilah Barry
18. Tioga Pass ft. Rocco Palladino
19. Cowrie Charms ft. Leon Thomas & Barbara Hicks
YUSSEF DAYES US TOUR