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The Return (Kamaal Williams album)

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The Return
A black background with white Arabic calligraphy. A black-and-white photo of a man can be seen through the script.
Studio album by
Kamaal Williams
Released25 May 2018 (2018-05-25)
StudioWilliam's mother's living room
Genre
Length44:23
LabelBlack Focus
Producer
  • Kamaal Williams
  • Richard Samuels
Kamaal Williams chronology
Black Focus
(2016) 		The Return
(2018) 		DJ-Kicks: Kamaal Williams
(2019)

The Return is the debut studio album by British musician and producer Kamaal Williams. It was released on 25 May 2018, under his Black Focus Record label. After the breakup of the band Yussef Kamaal, Williams sought to recreate the sounds of their 2016 album Black Focus with bassist Pete Martin, drummer Josh McKenzie and producer Richard Samuels. The album is built on improvisation and its ideas are based on their recorded jam sessions.

Two music videos were released for the album, "Catch the Loop" and "Salaam", both directed by Greg Barnes. Williams also announced a tour across Europe in 2018 and in North America in 2019. The Return received generally favorable reviews from music critics, some praising the re-creation of jazz-funk sounds of the 1970s, while others questioned the length of certain songs. In the United Kingdom, it marked his first entry in the albums chart at number 63, while in the Jazz & Blues chart it ranked number 1. The album also reached number 3 in the Top Jazz Albums chart in America.

Background and development

[edit]

Keyboardist Kamaal Williams formed Yussef Kamaal with drummer Yussef Dayes and released Black Focus in 2016. Shortly afterwards, the band broke up in May 2017 for "private and unforeseen reasons".[1] With The Return, Williams continues the style that Black Focus left off, where "it focuses on pure groove, augmented with loop-like repeated motifs but achieves them with live drums, funk-driven bass, and smooth, twinkling Fender Rhodes lines".[2] Michael J West of Bandcamp Daily said that the album continued Williams' "jazz fusion" reputation, which Williams rejected.[2] He instead considered the album to be "the essence of the London Underground",[2] clarifying that the musicians involved were from London.[2]

The album relies on improvisation based on the "rhythmic exchange" between Williams, bassist Pete Martin and drummer Josh "MckNasty" McKenzie.[2] According to West, Williams finds his ideas though "a rough, basic idea: a motif, a beat, a timbre, or a combination of the above".[2] The band recorded jams for up to 20 minutes and selected highlights to use for tracks,[2] which Williams considers "the most natural way to do it".[2] Williams recorded The Return with the band in his mother's living room, "I had no money, no studio, just one mic."[3] He and engineer Richard Samuels mixed the album for six months,[a] the drums in particular "took weeks" to mix.[2] The album was mastered by Guy Davie at Electric studios.[4] Calligrapher Haji Noor Deen wrote Williams' first name in Arabic on the album cover.[5]

Composition

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Matt Collar of AllMusic described The Return as a "psychedelia-dipped" jazz-funk record that incorporates EDM and hip-hop.[6] He additionally said that the band are capable of "dropping bass- and keyboard-heavy hooks, rhythm section motifs that sound like the intros, and hot mid-sections", similar to that of George Duke, Herbie Hancock, and Eddie Henderson.[6] The album employs a "a more laid back, funk-soaked sound" in contrast to the "darker edge" of Black Focus, according to Angus McKeon of Clash.[7] John Paul of PopMatters writes that "the album's back half tends to lessen the tempos and allow for greater washes of synth to blanket the incessant rhythmic prowess on display".[8]

The first track "Salaam" has "watery keys and a groove that starts slow before working itself up to a bustling climax"; as "MckNasty quickens the tempo, Martin strings together galloping phrases, and Williams begins making his own runs".[6][9] For the next track "Broken Theme", it has "off-kilter drums and keys" that "snap into line" every few seconds later.[10] The string-arrangement of the title track was compared to Jon Brion's work on Late Registration by Kanye West.[10] Its "powerful strings build to a tantalising crescendo" and transitions to funk driven song "High Roller".[10] The fifth track "Situations" was recorded during a live performance in Milan.[7]

For "Catch the Loop", the track uses breakbeat sounds with "a series of vintage synth stabs", its rhythm then "lessens to a lock-step, club-footed march".[8] "Rhythm Commission" is "a slowly evolving groove that, by track's end, has blossomed into a gloriously funky exercise in rhythmic precision".[8] For "Medina", the track has a 3/4 rhythm "Williams developing melodic motifs on top".[2] The ninth track "LDN Shuffle" features guitar soloing from Mansur Brown compared to that of Allan Holdsworth.[8] The closing track "Aisha" is a minimalist track that has layers of "ambient synth pads".[11][12]

Release and promotion

[edit]

The Return was released on 25 May 2018 under Williams' own label Black Focus Records.[13] The album topped the UK Jazz & Blues chart,[14] while it marked Williams' first entry in the Official Albums Chart at number 63.[15] In the country's Independent Albums Chart, it ranked at number 5.[16] The album reached number 82 in the Scottish Albums Chart.[17] The album debuted in the US Top Jazz Albums chart at number 3.[18] In the Belgian Ultratop Flanders Chart, it reached number 182.[19] Prior to the album's release, Williams listed tour dates for March and April 2018 in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.[20] He also announced a tour in America and Canada for March 2019 in support of the album.[21]

Music videos for "Catch the Loop" and "Salaam" were released, both directed and filmed by Greg Barnes.[22] After he and Williams worked together on "Catch the Loop", they saw The Return as "the soundtrack to an unmade, and epic film".[22] The next video "Salaam" was filmed in Marrakech, Morocco in two days. Williams said:

Marrakech is a special place for me, both spiritually and creatively. Every time I go, I feel alive again and it's a huge inspiration for my work[…] Working with local people in the medina and sharing our story with the community made this experience real. Barnes captured the essence of my relationship with the city as well as the colors and the energy of everything in it.[22]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Clash8/10[7]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
Mojo[24]
MusicOMH[9]
Pitchfork8.0/10[10]
PopMatters7/10[8]
The Times[25]
Uncut8/10[26]

The Return was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 77, based on 9 reviews.[23]

Critics praised The Return for its recreation of jazz and funk sounds of the 1970s,[11][6] where Piotor Orlov of NPR writes: "Surrounded by a music scene constantly looking to invoke far-off traditions or break historically new ground, its goals seem comparatively conservative."[27] Dean van Nguyen of Pitchfork commented that "while Dayes' rasping drumming is missed, newly recruited percussionist MckNasty offers his own urbane rhythms."[10] He continued that Williams "present[s] himself as belonging to the same continuum as Yussef Kamaal while establishing himself as a solo artist[…] Yet The Return does even more".[10]

Will Hodgkinson writes that The Return "can dissolve into fiddly muso abstraction — the guitar solo on LDN Shuffle seems to be an attempt to play as many notes as possible — but with the gloriously bouncy Salaam and the space-age Aisha[…] this is ideal jazz for a summer's day."[25] Critics questioned the short lengths "Rhythm Commission" and the title track, with Nguyen stating that "there was room for this album to grow."[10][9] Ben Devlin of MusicOMH wrote that the track "'LDN Shuffle' never quite justifies its own existence over its five-and-a-half minute run-time, but such noodling can be forgiven to an extent on an album that is more about groove than melody".[9]

Accolades

[edit]

The Return appeared on numerous year-end lists in 2018. Bleep ranked The Return at number 6 on its year end list, with the staff commending its "rich tapestry of visionary jazz woven together with the sounds and signals of South London Streets" and called it "one of the most exciting musical movements 2018 has witnessed".[28] The album was ranked at number 8 by Complex magazine, with Chantelle Fiddy writing that it "provided a backdrop for an increasingly diverse listenership seeking respite and something real in this tech-compressed hectic old world we find ourselves in".[29] Piccadillly Records placed the album at number 48 on its year end list, the staff wrote: "brilliantly funked-up jazz groves, rolling bass licks and flickering percussions make this not only a fitting follow-up to Williams' collaboration LP from last year but a significant progression".[30]

Accolades for The Return
Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Bandcamp Bandcamp's Top 100 Albums of 2018
49
 [31]
Bleep Bleep's Top 10 Albums of 2018
6
 [28]
Complex Complex' Top 15 Albums of 2018
8
 [29]
Crack Crack's Top 50 Albums of 2018
23
 [32]
DJ Mag DJ Mag's Top 50 Albums of 2018
32
 [33]
Norman Records Norman Records' Top 50 Albums of 2018
13
 [34]
Passion of the Weiss Passion of the Weiss Top 50 Albums of 2018
26
 [35]
Piccadilly Records Piccadilly Records' Top 100 Albums of 2018
48
 [30]
The Vinyl Factory The Vinyl Factory's Top 50 Albums of 2018
43
 [36]
The Wire The Wire's Top 50 Releases of 2018
35
 [37]

Track listing

[edit]
The Return track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Salaam"8:33
2."Broken Theme"4:28
3."The Return"1:06
4."High Roller"3:01
5."Situations (Live in Milan)"2:59
6."Catch the Loop"6:54
7."Rhythm Commission"2:34
8."Medina"6:57
9."LDN Shuffle"5:29
10."Aisha"2:22
Total length:44:23

Personnel

[edit]

Credits for The Return adapted from album liner notes.[38]

  • Kamaal Williams[b] – rhodes piano, synth, production
  • Pete Martin – bass
  • Joshua McKenzie – drums
  • Richard Samuels – production, recording, mixing

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for The Return
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 182
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 82
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 63
UK Jazz & Blues Albums (OCC)[14] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[16] 5
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[18]
3

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Williams also acknowledged Samuels as a band member.[2]
  2. ^ Production credited as Henry Wu

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Murray, Robin (4 May 2017). "Yussef Kamaal To Perform Separately". Clash. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k West, Michael J. (18 May 2018). "Kamaal Williams on Life After "Black Focus" and How He Defies the Jazz Fusion Label". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. ^ Majumdar, Anushree (9 December 2018). "Meet the British-Chinese Muslim man from south London reinventing jazz". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Recording Kamaal Williams with the Clarett 8Pre". Focusrite. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Ghassemitari, Shawn (25 March 2022). "Kamaal Williams Embodies the Sound of the London Underground". Hypebeast. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e Collar, Matt. "The Return – Kamaal Williams". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b c McKeon, Angus (24 June 2018). "Kamaal Williams – The Return". Clash. Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d e Paul, John (27 July 2018). "Kamaal Williams Creates Retro-Futurist Jazz Fusion on The Return". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d Devlin, Ben (21 May 2018). "Kamaal Williams – The Return". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Van Nguyen, Dean (25 May 2018). "Kamaal Williams: The Return Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. ^ a b c Press, Kevin (24 May 2018). "Kamaal Williams – The Return". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  12. ^ Murphy, Ben. "Kamaal Williams – 'The Return' review". Crack. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  13. ^ Murray, Robin (21 March 2018). "Kamaal Williams Announces New Album 'The Return'". Clash. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Official Jazz & Blues Albums Chart Top 30". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  17. ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Jazz Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Ultratop.be – Kamaal Williams – The Return" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  20. ^ Bakerstein, D.L. (23 March 2018). "London-based jazz fusion kingpin Kamaal Williams (a.k.a. Henry Wu) announces debut album on his own label, Black Focus Records". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  21. ^ Slingerland, Calum (22 November 2018). "Kamaal Williams Maps Out North American Tour". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  22. ^ a b c "Kamaal Williams Presents New Video for 'Salaam'". XLR8R. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Kamaal Williams – The Return". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  24. ^ Cowan, Andy (August 2018). "Kamaal Williams – The Return". Mojo: 94.
  25. ^ a b Hodgkinson, Will. "Jazz review: Kamaal Williams: The Return". The Times. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  26. ^ Pattison, Louis (July 2018). "Kamaal Williams – The Return". Uncut: 37.
  27. ^ Orlov, Piotr (17 May 2018). "Kamaal Williams' 'The Return' Is An Elastic And Funky Debut". NPR. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  28. ^ a b "Bleep's Top 10 Albums of 2018". Bleep. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  29. ^ a b Patterson, Joseph (21 December 2018). "Complex UK's Best Albums of 2018". Complex. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  30. ^ a b "Piccadilly Records' Top 100 of 2018". Piccadilly Records. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  31. ^ "The Best Albums of 2018". Bandcamp. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  32. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2018". Crack. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  33. ^ "DJ Mag's Top 50 Albums of 2018". DJ Mag. 15 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  34. ^ "Norman Records' Top 50 Albums of 2018". Album of the Year. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  35. ^ "The POW Best Albums of 2018". Passion of the Weiss. 24 December 2018. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  36. ^ "Our 50 Favourite Albums of 2018". The Vinyl Factory. 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  37. ^ "Listen to The Wire's Top 50 releases of 2018". The Wire. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  38. ^ The Return (liner notes). Kamaal Willams. Black Focus Records. 2018. BFR001.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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