Leon Bridges just linked up with Jungle to make you dance again
With his new album arriving this September, the soul singer drops a four-song preview today and plays a secret London show tonight.
Leon Bridges is done making you cry in your feelings. The Grammy-winning king of smooth Texas soul is transitioning straight to the dance floor with his newly announced album, Happiness Anytime, dropping 25th September. To pull off the vibe change, he linked up with J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto of British groove-masters Jungle. The soundtrack of a fast-paced, Afrobeat-tinted summer drops its first four tracks today, right before Bridges hits the stage for a second consecutive secret pop-up show at London’s iconic Jazz Café tonight.
The project came together in a flash during a few studio sessions in LA, where the trio, joined by legendary bass player Pino Palladino, forced themselves to finish one full track every single day without overthinking the process. Instead of dropping all 12 songs at once, Bridges is rolling the record out in three separate four-song chunks. The first batch, featuring the heavy, 1 a.m. club anthem “Your Love Is Electric,” is live on streaming platforms right now.
To match the energy, Bridges has completely overhauled his live setup, trading standard arena stages for club sets across Paris, LA, and Cannes. He’s touring with a vinyl DJ, a full horn section, and three backing vocalists, finally stepping out from behind the microphone to get back to dancing out front himself.
Credits:
Image courtesy of Leon Bridges
Words: Roisin Teeling @roisinteeling
