I Came From Love (Live from the Roundhouse)

Dave Okumu

Released on 14/4/23 by Transgressive
Main artists: Dave Okumu
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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Dave Okumu's extensive résumé includes three full-lengths as the frontman of genre-defying indie electronic band the Invisible, as well as work on Jessie Ware's albums, several releases by Matthew Herbert, and a collaboration with Joan as Police Woman and Tony Allen -- and this list barely scratches the surface of everything he's done. Though he released Knopperz, an instrumental hip-hop record based on Duval Timothy's Sen Am, in 2021, he regards I Came from Love as his first true solo project. Credited to Dave Okumu & the 7 Generations, the album is a reflection of his own life and family ancestry (the son of Kenyan immigrants, he grew up in Vienna and has lived in England since he was ten) as well as an exploration of Black history as a whole. The album incorporates spoken passages drawing inspiration from the work of writers and activists such as Aimé Cesaire, James Baldwin, and C.L.R. James, as well as references to historical events. The heart-racing "Blood Ah Go Run" samples news clippings about a 1981 house fire in London that resulted in the deaths of 13 Black teenagers. Chants of protest and resistance are interspersed throughout the fragmentary lyrics about fighting for justice. Grace Jones opens the album with a brief quote referencing the memoir of Elias Ball, an 18th century slave master. She also asks the listener to consider their identity and origin on the record's title track, which features two of the album's other frequent contributors, Wesley Joseph and ESKA. The song moves from a patient, dubby pulse to a breathless rush, as haunting choral vocals swell behind Jones' request to "feel the resilience." "My Negritude" spotlights poet Anthony Joseph reading a passage from Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land, ending the triumphant verse with the words "the work of man has only begun." He returns for the track "Scenes," defiantly stating "we cannot be sent back." Despite being a song about heartbreak and displacement, the funk pop tune "Amnesia" has one of the album's catchiest, most uplifting grooves. The sunny final song, "A Paradise," driven by dub basslines and Wesley Joseph's hopeful rap verses, underscores the positive message behind the entire record. I Came from Love is an informative, emotionally heavy album reminding listeners of the harsh realities and injustices of history, while encouraging resistance and change.

© Paul Simpson /TiVo

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I Came From Love (Live from the Roundhouse)

Dave Okumu

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