Loggerhead

Album review

Oppressive, aggressive, abrasive… you’ve got to be a little bit nuts to enter the world of Loggerhead. This is the first proper album from Miles Romans-Hopcraft (alias Wu-Lu) and it doesn’t offer listeners anywhere to hide. The fact that the album has been released on Warp, a label with a very sharp editorial policy, is warning enough that Loggerhead will heckle your brain and body as well as your ears. The first few minutes of this album include smoky chords laid over an almost dreamy beat, completely disguising the impending tsunami of sound… From grunge (Times) to grime, drum & bass (Facts, Blame) to hip-hop, metal to trip hop; Wu-Lu wasn’t afraid to take risks on his first release and has expertly mixed these opposing ingredients together. Those who’ve been following the Londoner from Brixton for several years will be familiar with Ginga, his 2015 EP on which he opted for soulful, instrumental hip hop⁠—light years away from the screaming rage of Loggerhead…

The embodiment of skate culture and freedom, Wu-Lu is part of a generation of British multi-instrumentalists capable of switching from an MPC to a drum kit to an old vintage synth in the snap of a finger. On this new release, he’s also joined by a rapper (Lex Amor on South), a violinist/producer (the incredible Mica Levi on Calo Paste) as well as other musicians who are as elusive as he is (Morgan Simpson and Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin from the band Black Midi make an appearance on numerous tracks). No blinkers, no boundaries! Following in the footsteps of incredible artists such as Flying Lotus, DJ Shadow, J Dilla and Madlib, Wu-Lu kneads and sculpts each sound, instrument and beat into unexpected shapes. He then riddles them with politically charged lyrics, tackling global crises, gentrification, alienation, racism and just about any other modern-day issue you can think of. Loggerhead is as complex as the times we live in. This is a strong release by a shape-shifting artist who’s bound to go on to great things. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz