Music Republic Magazine single of the month for May 2020 from future star Oscar Jerome, the groove-soaked funk monster track “Give Back What U Stole From Me”, released today (20/05/20).
First listen to this super singer, songwriter and fabulously cool guitarist and you will be forgiven for assuming this talented young cat hails from New York, but he is in fact from Norwich in the UK and now South London-based!
“Give Back What U Stole From Me’ – which you can hear at the bottom of this page – comes from imminent debut album, “Breathe Deep”, due in July via Caroline International. Oscar also plays in Brownswood-signed Afrobeat group Kokoroko.
He has announced a lengthy UK/European tour for later this year, including his biggest headliner to date at Electric Brixton, London on November 25th, after previous sold-out shows across the capital at the likes of Heaven, Village Underground and EartH.
“Give Back What U Stole From Me” is the red hot follow-up to the recent “Your Saint” single, featuring Brother Portrait and the 6-Music B-listed “Sun For Someone”, featuring Joe Armon-Jones.
The latest single features some killer vocals from Oscar and his gorgeous jazz-guitar skills, bolstered by the soaring saxophone of Theo Erskine and a loose, shuffling rhythm section courtesy of bassist Jack Polley, drummer Ayo Salawu (Kokoroko) and percussionist Crispin Spry (Brian Eno, Mulatu Astatke).
Oscar penned the song about the greed and “disgusting self-importance” of bankers, and he feels this is more relevant than ever right now….. “as we see the health and livelihood of ordinary people being overlooked as large corporations exploit the situation and get propped up by government money.”
A graduate in jazz guitar from London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Oscar has collaborated with Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd and Yussef Dayes.
On the incoming “Breathe Deep” debut album sees Oscar bring in a bunch of the people who have been an integral part of his journey so far, including several of his fellow band-mates in Kokoroko. Oscar wrote the breakthrough Kokoroko track, ‘Abusey Junction”, currently at more than 50 million streams.
Also on the debut album are Joe Armon-Jones, plus friends in Sons of Kemet, Maisha and Steam Down as well as Lianne La Havas.
Oscar has completed successful tours of the USA, Europe and Australia, and accepted an invite to tour with Kamasi Washington last year. Here are his own UK and European tour dates:
BREATHE DEEP UK/EU TOUR-DATES
Oct 9 – Gent, BE – Balzaal at Vooruit
Oct 27 – Brighton, UK – Patterns
Oct 29 – Oslo, NO – Krøsset
Oct 31 – Copenhagen, DK – Ideal Bar
Nov 2 – Cologne, DE – JAKI
Nov 3 – Hamburg, DE – Nachtasyl
Nov 5 – Berlin, DE – Musik & Frieden
Nov 7 – Warsaw, PL – Hydrozagadka
Nov 9 – Vienna, AT – Porgy & Bess
Nov 10 – Luzern, CH – Schüür
Nov 11 – Munich, DE – Strom
Nov 13 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
Nov 16 – Birmingham, UK – Mama Roux’s
Nov 17 – Leeds, UK – Belgrave
Nov 18 – Manchester, UK – Gorilla
Nov 20 – Glasgow, UK – Drygate
Nov 21 – Newcastle, UK – St Doms Social Club
Nov 22 – Bristol, UK – Fleece
Nov 23 – Norwich, UK – Norwich Arts Centre
Nov 25 – London, UK – Electric Brixton
Oscar Jerome photos by Denisha Anderson
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