My Mixtape: Dave Okumu
Best known as frontman of The Invisible, Dave Okumu has long credited Grace Jones as a major influence
Fitting then that not only did Okumu get to work with Jones on her latest album, but also that he got to play a significant part in her Meltdown festival here at the Southbank Centre in 2022.
On 14 June 2022 Okumu was joined by a host of special guests, including his Invisible band-mates Tom Herbet and Leo Taylor, plus Nick Ramm, Raven Bush, Robert Stillman and Aviram Barath for a special concert drawing influence from Jones’ Nightclubbing and another influential album, Echoes by Wally Badarou.
Ahead of this remarkable night of music, Okumu took time to put together a special playlist for us, channelling the spirit of the night, and the work of Jones and Badarou. But why read our explanation of this mixtape when you can read the words of Okumu himself, as he introduces this toe-tapping 11 track collection.
‘All the music I’ve selected for this playlist is connected to our upcoming Meltdown performance, either in spirit, by derivation from the repertoire of the show, or by virtue of the fact the piece features one or more of the night’s performers. I’ve always been drawn to concepts which hold space for the illumination of, and connections between, individual and collective cultural contributions. And the concept of Meltdown feels like the embodiment of the sentiment.
‘I love the fact that Grace Jones and The Compass Point All Stars were sufficiently inspired by Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Libertango’ to produce the iconic ‘I’ve Seen That Face Before’ and that Tony Allen’s afrobeat language continues to resonate so powerfully through the work of contemporary artists like Little Simz.
‘When listeners hear the range of tones and sounds that Tom Herbert can create from one instrument, as demonstrated in the piece ‘Hibernal’, or the idiosyncratic, phrase orientated compositional approach of Robert Stillman, or Leo Taylor’s inimitable drum feel on Gramme’s ‘I Feel The Moment’, I hope they will be afforded a compelling route into our unique way of interpreting music as a group.
‘On the night Grace will be our spiritual guiding light as we perform instrumental versions of her catalogue, alongside music from Wally Badarou’s cult classic ‘Echoes’, so it seemed fitting to close this little set with the dub version of ‘Private Life’, which spotlights all the brilliant compositional elements of the piece, not least Wally’s extraordinary melodic sensibility.’
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