British-Ghanaian producer/DJ Juls has shared his long-awaited debut album, Sounds Of My World.
London-based Juls has built up a steady repertoire in the music industry over the past decade, welding together Afrobeats, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, dub, reggae and Amapiano for a textured range of musical backdrops, fusing West African and Black British culture together seamlessly.
The LP is an ensemble featuring a travelled range of guest artists to shine atop Juls’ eclectic batch of beats. Wizkid, Kojo Funds, Knucks, Jaz Karis, George The Poet, kadiata, A2, DarkoVibes, Oxlade, Sam Wise, Bas and many more are sandwiched between the album’s self-produced 15 tracks.
Highlights include the jazz-soaked Afrobeats jam “Summer In The Ends”, with Jaz Karis and George The Poet. The track leads with smooth R&B vocals from Karis whilst Juls permeates the song’s vintage-sounding saxophones reminiscent of early Sade. Another is the rap-centric detour, “Wicked”, which sees Sam Wise, kadiata and Knucks deliver slick, quotable rhymes over an Afro-pop riddim.
“It’s been a very long process,” says Juls. “I started making this album after my Colours mixtape in 2019; I’ve been selfish and just focusing on myself working on my brand and sound, so I haven’t really made records for a lot of other artists. I’m excited for the world to hear what I’ve been working on. I pray it does very well because I’ve put a lot into it. I’d love to get a charted album or break amazing records like some of my peers, but more importantly, I hope that it’s an amazing listening experience and the beginning of something great. The album is a reflection of my mind sonically, amongst other things.”
To sum up the project in one word, it would be infectious. It’s hard to pick out standout tracks because the album feels like one giant soundboard of wide-reaching styles, compressed into a truly cohesive 15-song epic that celebrates the African diaspora. Juls has well and truly delivered one of the best albums of the year.
Peep the visuals for “Wicked” above, and stream Sounds Of My World in full below.
