Mo Kolours - Texture Like Sun

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  • As Mo Kolours, Joseph Deenmamode has become the poster boy for a niche but fertile scene of South London beatmakers. Along with Jeen Bassa and Reginald Omas Mamode IV (not to mention Al Dobson Jr, Henry Wu and labels like 22a and Five Easy Pieces), this tight group of friends and collaborators has produced a wealth of interrelated records since 2012. Each artist has a slightly different focus, be it jazz, hip-hop or funk, but for Deenmamode nothing is out of bounds. His magpie approach grows more apparent on Texture Like Sun, a troubled follow up to his 2014 self-titled debut that suggests the half-Mauritian, half-British producer is the most politically minded in his crew. There's a stream-of-conscious diary feel to Texture Like Sun—both in the way it abruptly jumps between moods and in the way it incorporates Deenmamode's half sung, half spoken words.Each time he appears there is pain and resignation in his voice. Tracks like "Find Out What You Want" are tender and vulnerable with their finger clicks and swooning chords. "Harvest" includes the line "Half of us are satisfied and half of us need," and asks "When will there be a harvest for the world?" On "Don't Poison All The Water," Deenmamode sings about factory waste polluting rivers and killing off coral. Despite such bleak and poignant messages, the music is disarmingly blissful. Loosely jumbled grooves, gentle hooks and earthy percussion will get you humming or nodding along without a thought. There's also a playful absurdity to Texture Like Sun that makes its political undertones more palatable. "Where's The Salad" is a snippet of a family asking about salad as a didgeridoo plays in the background. "Orphan's Lament" muses on death, guns and dropping bombs in a gorgeous neo-soul framework. At one point, a spinning radio dial stops on an ill-tuned house track, a pirate station sending shout outs and finally a stoned reggae rhythm. Such neat tangents keep the album from wallowing. Only one track here is over three minutes and the whole thing clocks in under 40, so it's easy for the subtleties to zip by unnoticed. Maybe that's the aim, though: to hint and suggest rather than lecture and preach. And sure, the tracklist can feel too sketchy and unsettled, but after time even the lack of standalone singles—like "Little Brown Dog" or "Mike Black" from Mo Kolours—is forgivable. Fascinating and vibrant, Texture Like Sun finds Deenmamode less concerned with his own life and times, focusing instead on the world around him.
  • Tracklist
      01. Pots & Pans Ceremonial Intro 02. Foundation 03. Keep Cool 04. Paradise 05. Club Skit 06. Harvest 07. Where’s The Salad? 08. Find Out What You Want 09. Sign 10. Second Start 11. Breathe 12. Orphan’s Lament 13. Foundation Rhythm 14. Don’t Poison All The Water 14. B Feeling Skit 16. Texture Like Sun (Golden Brown) 17. Tears & Sand 18. A Soul’s Journey 19. Pass It Round
RA