First Word Records are very proud to bring you 'Ghouls', the 6th studio album from Bastien Keb.Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of it's 19-tracks, this album spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz, and ethereal ambience. Part soundtrack, part beat-tape, part memoir, this is a dreamlike soundscape sewn together from half-forgotten memories & late night breakdowns.Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like 'The French Connection', 'Taxi Driver', 'The Warriors', and 'La Haine'. There are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.Keb describes the sonic experience of this album simply as this... 'You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm... ' For this 19-track opus, Keb is joined extensively by Malik Ameer Crumpler; a poet, composer, editor and professor based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media.A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Presse, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).Keb concludes 'this record is for anyone feeling lost in a world that seems to have lost itself without knowing it. It's for the people who know that the world is missing the beauty of the lights in the distance, whilst being distracted by new shoes and flashy phones...'Tracklisting:A1. Prologue (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler)A2. NighthawksA3. Play Dead (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler & Mark Millington)A4. Queen of CatsA5. The City is Beautiful (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler & Mark Millington)A6. NightbusA7. Organ / Lucid (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler)A8. Apres Minuit (feat. Mark Millington)A9. West (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler)B1. Chapter 1 - A BoyB2. GhoulsB3. NorthB4. Chapter 2 - A PartyB5. Chapter 3 - A GirlB6. A Ghost's Lament (feat. Malik Ameer Crumpler)B7. Chapter 4 - A MonsterB8. MoonlightB9. Chapter 5 - A HomeB10. Orca / Burial

UPC: 5050580857643
Label: First Word
Release Date: 11.14.25
Format: Vinyl

Bastien Keb - Ghouls (LP)