Listen to my debut album "Hafa"

I first released this album in June 2015, and it was warmly received by both DJs and radio stations. It was named Album of the Week on WDR Funkhaus Europa (Germany) and got airplay on Radio Nova (France) as well as BBC Radio 6. Even Mount Kimbie and Bonobo gave the opening track, “Sadeo,” a spin on their NTS radio shows. After a few months, Soundway Records reached out and decided to release it. They pressed the album on vinyl (a few copies still remain!) and reissued it in October 2016.

Around that same time, I put together a live band for a launch tour, featuring Binisa Bonner (bass + vocals), Benoit Crauste (saxophone), Kino Sousa (Ableton controls), and myself on guitar.

You can learn more about the album’s songs here:

Sadeo: This track was co-written with Fehdah, an Irish singer born in Sierra Leone. She evokes memories of her childhood in Africa, singing in a blend of Sierra Leonan Mende, English, and her own invented words.

Water: This song, co-written with Dublin-based Nigerian drummer Segun Akano, revolves around the vital importance of water to humanity. We recorded everything—including the drums—in my bedroom at the time, right in Dublin.

Quiver: This track first appeared on my debut EP in 2011. It reflects themes of sensuality, love, and intimacy. Malaysian-Irish singer Aminah Dastan, who was raised on soul, folk, and dub across New Zealand, Malaysia, and Dublin, recorded the vocals in Dublin.

L'Horloge: Originally composed for a live performance, this song was further developed by Irish saxophonist Paul Harris and evolved into a track that dances between jazz, afrobeat, and house music.

Água Viva: The story behind this track started in 2013 when Brazilian DJ and crate-digger Tahira visited me in Lisbon. He handed me a copy of 'Krishnanda' by Pedro Santos (aka Pedro Sorongo), a little-known 1960s album that includes ‘Água Viva,’ an ode to nature’s beauty and harmony. I became obsessed with the song and asked British-Brazilian singer Nina Miranda (ex–Smoke City) to record a cover. The vocals were captured in Nina’s attic in North London.

Kulala: This track is another cover—originally performed by South African singer Dorothy Masuka and later popularized by Miriam Makeba. It’s been one of my DJ staples for years, and also a favorite of Congolese-English singer Binisa Bonner. I first heard Binisa perform it onstage in London in 2010, and we became friends soon after. We recorded our version in 2014, and she joined me on the album release tour in 2016.

Seasons: This track was born out of a jam session at Aminah Dastan’s place in Crumlin, Dublin. Saxophonist Paul Harris’s brilliant horn arrangement played a major part in shaping the final sound.

Wind, Sand and Stars: The title references Saint-Exupéry’s book. The music captures both serenity and chaos, loneliness and crowds, sunshine and storms. Recorded with Brazilian duo Eko, this track closes the album, evoking either a forced landing in a desert or an escape to a remote Atlantic island.