Top UK Independent Album Releases of 2018

2018 has been a brilliant year of music for independent artists in the UK, and as always, the aim of Inspired Sound is to shed light on artists who may go a little under the radar, or a little over some people’s head. So, to celebrate some great releases, and to celebrate a little over a year of Inspired Sound we wanted to highlight some of our favourite album releases from the UK this year.

Now, to narrow the choices we wanted to focus our attention on UK album releases only, and not singles or EPs. Generally, albums really highlight a more significant marker in an artists’ career and, whether it’s through beats or words, it can tell a more intimate picture of the artists’ current mood, thoughts, and influences. As ever, the platform has always tried to focus on independent artists, and the aim has always been to share good music which comes my way, no matter the genre. So, in no particular order:

Children of Zeus –  Travel Light

 

The Magrehban – 01DEAS

Kaidi Tatham – It’s All About You

 

Louis VI – Sugar Like Salt

The Expansions – Murmuration

Manga St Hilaire – Outsiders Live Forever

Kamaal Williams – The Return

Moses Boyd – Displaced Diaspora

Maisha – There Is A Place

Blue Lab Beats – Xover

Barney Artist – Home Is Where The Art Is

Summers Sons – Uruhu

 

 

First Thoughts: The Expansions – Mosiac

South London based jazz-funk quartet; The Expansions draw on inspiration from old 70s and 80s funk, meshed with beautiful synths to bring their music to this age. Their recent EP release titled; ‘The Mosiac‘ is gorgeously edgy and filled with astral flow and rhythm. The quartet first grabbed my attention, like many, with the stunning EP titled; ‘The Murmation‘, which showed off their craftsmanship and keen ears perfectly, whilst also catching the eyes from respected music publications such as; Stamp the Wax, The Lonely Table, and The Vinyl Factory.

Check The Expansions live performance of Red Baron below:

*This video is courtesy of The Expansions, and is for promotional use only*

Frontline track; ‘Mosaic’ matches energy and vibrancy from the guitar and keys with the strong, warm drums and bassline throughout. Cohesively working together to form, what develops into an incredibly ethereal opening track with the eerie synthesized keys creating momentous build ups throughout. The following track ‘Transcoso’, winds down the tempo and mood with the slow, soothing synthesized keys setting the pace. Whereas, the closing track ‘Mariposa’ oozes with inspiration from old 70s funk, with tremendous pace and skills from the band’s drummer; Jonny Drop, as well as special mention the lead guitarist James O’Keefe excellently solo mid-way through the track stealing the show. ‘Mariposa’ brilliantly caps off a wonderfully crafted EP.

You can listen and buy via Bandcamp or Juno

Also, check out our updated Spotify playlist, with features recent releases shared on this page: