{"product_id":"zendnl188x","title":"The Invisible - Rispah","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eRispah\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, the new album from \u003cstrong\u003eThe Invisible\u003c\/strong\u003e, is, in the words of \r\nsinger-guitarist Dave Okumu, \u003cem\u003e”a love letter to grief.”\u003c\/em\u003e Mid-way through \r\nrecording a follow-up to 2009’s Mercury-nominated debut album, Okumu’s \r\nmother passed away and the band’s plans and aesthetic were thrown into \r\nturmoil. As Okumu remembers it, \u003cem\u003e“I couldn't engage with music for a long\r\n period. The moment it returned to me was at my mum's funeral, which \r\nlasted several days. One evening, during the wake, my grandmother Zilpa,\r\n my mother's mum, arrived at our home accompanied by a group of women \r\nsinging traditional spirituals. They approached my mother's body and \r\nsang over it, dancing around her coffin. It was the most beautiful sound\r\n I've ever heard. They transformed the atmosphere with sound and the \r\nspirit they brought to it. They were celebrating life and death, grief \r\nand hope, all things. This act was allowing everyone present to express \r\nthemselves. It served as the most potent reminder of everything I \r\nbelieve about music. It's there for everybody, it's inclusive and \r\ntransformative. I'm so glad these voices are stitched through our \r\nrecord.\" \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis epiphany forms the spiritual core of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eRispah\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e (Okumu's mother's \r\nname). It is a record imbued with an inevitable melancholy but defined \r\nby a sense of hope. Above all, this is an inclusive record, drawing on \r\npersonal grief in order to create something universal and emotionally \r\ntrue. Throughout, the band reveal their rich creativity and \r\nmusicianship. Echoes run through these songs of African music (including\r\n beautifully-woven-in samples of the singers from his mother's funeral),\r\n psalm tones and devotional music, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eIn A Silent Way\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e-era \u003cstrong\u003eMiles Davis\u003c\/strong\u003e, \r\nhints of minimal classical composers such as \u003cstrong\u003eSteve Reich\u003c\/strong\u003e and the wilder \r\nmore psychedelic end of hip hop and related electronic musics. If you \r\nwanted, you could look for and find echoes of \u003cstrong\u003eThe\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eBeach Boys\u003c\/strong\u003e or \u003cstrong\u003eBrian \r\nEno\u003c\/strong\u003e, too, though much of this is due to the originality of their sound, \r\nthe sense of a group who will not compromise. Nothing is ever included \r\nfor the sake of it, no attempt is made to patronise or sell the audience\r\n short. It's a record brimming with real emotion and restless \r\nintelligence, a record to get lost in. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDave Okumu\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTom Herbert\u003c\/strong\u003e (bass \u0026amp; synthesizer) and \u003cstrong\u003eLeo Taylor\u003c\/strong\u003e (drums) \r\nhave been working together as \u003cstrong\u003eThe Invisible\u003c\/strong\u003e since 2006, though their \r\nmusical collaborations stretch back much further and take in a huge \r\nvariety of projects.  When not working on \u003cstrong\u003eThe Invisible\u003c\/strong\u003e, they are \r\ninvolved in everything from co-writing and producing \u003cstrong\u003eJessie Ware\u003c\/strong\u003e's album\r\n (Okumu), playing as a member of British post-jazz legends \u003cstrong\u003ePolar Bear\u003c\/strong\u003e \r\n(Herbert) or drumming on much of \u003cstrong\u003eAdele\u003c\/strong\u003e's world-crushing second album \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e21\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \r\n(Taylor). They have also played live and recorded with a dizzying roll \r\ncall of musicians that runs from \u003cstrong\u003eSt Vincent\u003c\/strong\u003e in the \u003cstrong\u003eTom Waits\u003c\/strong\u003e tribute \u003cstrong\u003eRain Dogs Revisited\u003c\/strong\u003e, the \u003cstrong\u003eBritten Symphonia\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eJack De Johnette\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMatthew \r\nHerbert\u003c\/strong\u003e,\u003cstrong\u003e Hot Chip\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eZongamin\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eGramme\u003c\/strong\u003e and many others. The Invisible \r\nremains closest to the heart of what the trio are about as musicians, \r\nthough, as the beauty and emotional intelligence of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eRispah\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e clearly \r\ndemonstrates. \r\n\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ninjatune","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":44934240108703,"sku":"ZENCD188","price":10.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"2xLP","offer_id":44934240141471,"sku":"ZEN188","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0493\/8563\/5999\/products\/rispah-main.jpg?v=1736246369","url":"https:\/\/merch.ninjatune.net\/products\/zendnl188x","provider":"Ninja Tune","version":"1.0","type":"link"}