There are some who view creativity as a disciplined practice while others believe it to be an innate form of self-expression. Nigerian-British artist Loshh falls into the latter category, planting his roots as a creative director, visual artist, poet, stylist and scriptwriter. Sofa-surfing through the pandemic triggered a chain of events that would lead this London-based artist to where he needed to be. With no prior experience of making music, he arrived in 2021 with his debut EP ‘Ifarada’, which translates to ‘perseverance’ in Yoruba. He senses my shock when he reveals he’s only been making music for a year, to which he succinctly replies: “I shit you not.” Adding: “It sounds so weird but I feel like the seed has already been planted in my subconscious and I just have to make it quicker for my conscious mind to catch up.”

Jazz, post-punk, blues, highlife and fuji are the medley of sounds that echo around Loshh’s sonics, allowing him to create a formless yet cohesive sound. ‘Ifarada’ is fuel for political resistance but in the same breath, it’s also a gleeful celebration of the Black woman. It oozes with reverence for his Nigerian culture fed to him by his mother, as well as love for musical influences such as Andre 3000, Prince and Snoop Dogg.

On the opener ‘É Beré’ he offers his affirmations of protection and blessings from the higher powers as he dreams of a place where oppression is non-existent. Then on ‘Revolution’ he shines a harsh light on the crimes of the British colonies on Africans and Caribbeans, rallying the oppressed to gather their strength. Elsewhere, ‘Faji’ is reminiscent of the vibrant hall-party culture that is prevalent amongst the diaspora. He invites Udoma Janssen to assist in materialising the track’s concept in an uncomplicated form. Reverbed horns and cowboy-style guitar plucks swarm our earbuds while Loshh urgently pleads “Let us faji right now”.

The visual captures Loshh’s mother in a low-lit room dancing alone to his psychedelic sounds, at first dressed in ‘regular’ western clothing before she transforms into traditional Ankara wrapper. “I wanted to tell that story of how us African dilute ourselves because we’re living in the Western world right now and whether we like it or not, sometimes we do certain things just to fit in. It’s only the past four, five years that our pride has somehow just come back and we’re like, fuck this. If I want to wear my gele I will wear it and go up and down the streets.”

Our flow of conversation turns to reminiscing on memories of those hall parties we once frequented. Aside from the copious amounts of food and the personalised party bags to end the night, it’s the memory of the hypnotic synchronisation between the talking drums and live drums that Loshh holds dear. “Just know you’re going to have good music for the whole night,” he recalls. This particular experience is memorialised in all of his songs thanks to his working relationship with producer Santiago Morales. “With me and him it’s weird, we’ve met in another lifetime. He’s Columbian and in a few South American countries, Yoruba is a whole thing. The culture from Nigeria has travelled there, from the food, language, spirituality, music - it’s all there but it’s just different. So, when me and him met it was like, oh my god, this is why our cultures sound so similar.” Their instant chemistry led to the creation of what would be his debut track, ‘Feelam’.

Since 2021, we’ve had plenty of time to sit with the messages of ‘Ifarada’ and now Loshh reaches deep within himself for another collection of songs in his upcoming EP. To set the tone, ‘o’ is the first track to arrive and shows Loshh as his most refined self as he rises up from his own personal struggles to prepare for the better days he’s certain will arrive. The production is tight with rolling basslines and warped guitars tucked behind Loshh’s crunchy vocals where his repeated lines turn into hypnotic mantras. There’s also a warm horn section that greets us in small intervals throughout the track as well as synchronised instrumental stabs, signifying Loshh’s swift second coming.

“It’s more of a personal one, now I’m talking about myself and the struggle I’ve been through in life and those kinds of things,” he reflects. “It’s interesting, it’s of the same family tree as ‘Ifarada’ but it’s more of a conceptual EP.” Soon come, soon come.

‘O’ by Loshh is out now on Don’t Sleep. Discover it here.

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Published on 20/06/2022