East Londoner Alfa Mist is a composer and producer who defies easy categorization. First impressions are of soulful, hip-hop beats, but then artful trumpet work glides in. Elements of classical music are also present, with deft piano playing and eloquent strings. With vocalists both singing and employing poetic spoken word and rapping, Alfa Mist’s songs lead the listener from one delightful surprise to another.
A fan of hip-hop in his early days, Alfa Mist began to dig into the history behind the samples and began his journey into jazz and was particularly drawn to Miles Davis. Releasing Nocturne in 2015, a long-form EP, he began to get noticed from the music establishment. He followed up with Antiphon in 2017, which found him straying further from hip-hop into jazzier territory, without giving up the diverse sensibilities that make his sound so enthralling.
His most recent release, just this month, is 7th October: Epilogue, featuring two tracks, “Resolve” and “Exit (Feat. 2nd Exit),” with Alfa on keys and accompanied by Johnny Woodham on trumpet, guitarist Jamie Leeming on guitar, Kaya Thomas-Dyke on bass and drummer Peter Adam Hill.
Breathe