Despite earning a Grammy nomination for their work on Angelique Kidjo’s 2021 album
Mother Nature and a MOBO (Music of Black Origin) nod for “Best Jazz Act,” Blue Lab Beats’ website bio makes no mention of these accolades. Clearly, the British jazz-tronica duo cares more about the wildly eclectic and spirited tunes and beats they’re whipping up now than reveling in past glories.

We learn only their somewhat cryptic professional monikers (NK-OK, Mr. DM), their ages (23 and 28) and the dazzling array of influences that drive the fascinating and expansive global fusion vibe of their Blue Note full-length debut album
Motherland Journey. These include jazz, hip-hop, soul, funk, R&B “and others,” which means dance music, evidenced by their deep, thumping beats throughout; old-school, George Duke-inspired synth fusion via all-instrumental tracks like the spaced out “A-Vibe” and the moody “Inhale & Exhale (Interlude)”; and lighthearted, intoxicating reggaeton on “Blow You Away (Delilah)” and “Sensual Loving,” a feisty, horn-fired Caribbean sing- and dance-along jam.
Elsewhere, on tracks like “I’ll Be Here for You” (featuring vocalist Teni Tinks) and “Gotta Go Fast” (with a whimsical trumpet solo by Poppy Daniels), the duo delves into a silky-cool urban flow with tracks that would fit snugly on the smooth jazz charts, albeit with slightly more adventure. Beyond artfully fusing the worlds of jazz and R&B-oriented genres, Blue Lab Beats showcases the way the genres parallel each other in terms of the importance of featured guests. Most prominent of these showcases is the title track, a dreamy, jangling African jazz excursion co-written in Accra, Ghana, with Ghanian producer KillBeatz and featuring lead vocals that the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti recorded on his song “Everything Scatter.” With luck, this track — representing the first time Blue Lab Beats has incorporated jazz with African music — is a harbinger of exotic explorations to come. —
Jonathan Widran
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Ot6KlRfnV6vGwcQPpr6eg?si=YPkhMz5NQJSKw9zHmR8quw
Featured photo: Iliana Kanellopoulou