Ghostpoet has begun teasing a new album this year – his first since 2015’s excellent ‘Shedding Skin’ – with the release of ‘Immigrant Boogie’: a driving, hypnotic, 7/8 groove that suggests an unexplored afropunk side to the enigmatic spoken word maestro. But then Obaro Ejimiwe has never stayed still: constantly adding new layers to his sound, building in confidence and adventurousness – by now his repertoire is a cornucopia of deep house, trance and indie folk, all drawn together by that familiar Maxi Jazz drawl. The Marmite proposition of his lo-fi, claustrophobic early work has broadened into something truly stunning; and if TV On the Radio can grow from tape-hiss oddities to elder pop statesmen over in the States, is it so far-fetched to think Ejimiwe can do the same here at home? Never anything short of entrancing, gut-wrenchingly honest and heart-on-sleeve, we need men like Ghostpoet more than ever.
Tue 31 Oct 7pm at Mama Roux’s, 23 Lower Trinity St, Birmingham B9 4AG.£15. Seetickets.com
Words: Chris Donald - Gigs Editor
Published on: Sun 1 Oct 2017