Nubiyan Twist: Chasing Shadows

Since emerging from the Leeds College of Music scene in the early 2010s, Nubiyan Twist have grown into one of the more visible large ensembles within the modern UK jazz and Afrobeat scene, building a reputation through international touring and major festival appearances including WOMAD, Glastonbury and a recent appearance at Lollapalooza India. Led by guitarist, producer and composer Tom Excell, the group draws from Afrobeat, jazz, hip-hop, soul, dub and UK sound-system culture.  Across albums like Freedom Fables (Strut, 2021) and Find Your Flame (Strut, 2024), the band developed a sound built around layered horn arrangements, heavy afrobeat grooves and strong vocal hooks.  

On their fifth studio album, Chasing Shadows, the band refines that approach. Excell centres the compositions on a steady Afrobeat foundation, using dense arrangements and slower harmonic movement to leave space for the vocal and horn sections to respond and react throughout.

"Sunlight" opens with this album's featured vocalist Eniola entering on the downbeat. Her phrasing outlines the harmony clearly through the verses, followed by a saxophone solo and rap passages, each returning to the same underlying groove. The arrangement builds toward a tight full-ensemble ending.

"How Far" centres on call-and-response between lead vocal and chorus. The repeated phrase drives the structure, while horns double and answer the vocal lines. The bridge introduces more fluid vocal movement before returning to the same groove and closing without a change in harmonic direction. 

"Azimuth" focuses on layering. A simple piano figure repeats throughout, with horns stating the theme and guitar adding short, background lines. A percussion interlude breaks the texture briefly before the vocal returns, with backing parts reinforcing the same rhythmic framework.

Eniola remains a central presence, providing a consistent thread across a record built on extensive collaboration. With multiple vocalists, guest artists and dense ensemble writing, Chasing Shadows carries a large number of moving parts, and that scale is not easy to manage. At times, the range of collaborations pulls the record in different directions, but the band's control over arrangement and production keeps it from fragmenting. The result is a record that handles complexity with intent, holding together as a cohesive and carefully shaped statement.