"A free-flowing assemblage of jazz, soul, hip hop and diasporic styles." Mojo

“A cauldron of energy that bubbles with invention. Exhilarating stuff.”* * Record Collector**

“The type of record that should be blasted over a sun-drenched festival crowd.” Clash

“An elegant yet earthy hybrid of jazz, UK soul and highlife" Uncut

“Nubiyan Twist take a leap out of the densely packed crowd of UK jazz with Freedom Fables, a summation of the group's talent that sees them elevated into the highest tier of their cohort” Loud And Quiet

Woven around soul searching, cautionary tales and parables for modern life, the new album is the most accomplished yet by the Leeds / London collective, effortlessly fusing different soul, jazz and global styles with great musicianship and lyrics.

"Freedom Fables reflects on the power of narratives. Each vocalist on this record explores their own memoirs, a freedom of expression underpinning our belief that music is the ultimate narrative for unity," explains Tom Excell. “The record references a lot of music that we all loved during our formative years; you can hear touches of broken beat, blunted hip hop, highlife, Latin, jazz and UK soul running through the tracks."

The fluid, wistful first single ’24-7’ featuring Ego Ella May has been championed by Mary Anne Hobbs and added to the BBC 6Music playlist. Other illustrious guest appearances on the album include regular collaborator Cherise, featuring on the brilliant future single ‘Tittle Tattle’, calling out gossip through acerbic nursery rhyming, the loping ‘Flow’ dealing with the ebb and flow of anxiety and the epic Brazilian jazz workout, ‘Keeper’; UK jazz saxman Soweto Kinch brings a burning alto solo and rhymes to the determined ‘Buckle Up’ alongside the band's own vocalist Nick Richards as the track aims to “find the door to peace” among life’s challenges. "Soweto is a trailblazer of the UK scene both as an alto player and as a rapper with a unique flow and important lyricism," reflects Tom Excell. “It was really important for us to invite him to contribute to the album.”

Richards continues the “dust yourself off and find hope” theme on the rousing ‘Wipe Away Tears’; Ghanaian great Pat Thomas voices a gorgeous Accra meets London highlife jam; massive new vocal talent Ria Moran (a contemporary from the band's time at Leeds College Of Music) steps up on the sensual ‘Morning Light’ tackling delicate complexities of the heart and long time friend of the band, K.O.G., brings his trademark full strength Afro dancefloor energy to ‘If I Know’.

Shaping up to be a modern classic and a priority for Strut in 2021, ‘Freedom Fables’ is set to catapult Nubiyan Twist even further into the limelight and cement their position as one of the UK’s leading soulful collectives of the current generation.

The album was produced by Tom Excell at Henwood Studios in Oxfordshire and mixed by Oli Barton Wood and Tom Excell at The Premises. Artwork comes courtesy of Emma Rodriguez aka Mooncrab.