From the first track, ‘Introduction’ to ‘High Over Low’, Joseph Malik wants the listener to know that they are on a musical exploration through a collection of highly original soundscapes and that Proxima Ebony is no ordinary album. Proxima Ebony marks the end of a five year, five album output and the beginning of a new era of collaborations with international musicians, combining talents on projects created in Edinburgh, Scotland.‘Introduction’ opens Side A with ‘Proxima Ebony’ following as the title track of the album. This collaboration with San Francisco based rapper and producer, Antoine Green aka Capitol A, is a true labour of love and in the process of making the track, Joseph and Antoine have created a bold Afro Futurism anthem for our times. ‘Adjust Like Dat’ draws on many influences including Joseph’s Nigerian culture and early 80’s Philly International rhythms, resulting in an Afro Boogie track that takes no prisoners with its incessant keyboard and bass riffs and Joseph delivering his vocals with a nod to Nigerian patois. The international collaborations continue as multi-talented Philadelphia based rapper and spoken word artist, Kameelah Waheed joins forces with Joseph on the duet, ‘Be A Lion’. Kameelah and Joseph bring back the fun and positivity to this old skool hip hop outing in its truest sense with Edinburgh hip hop legend, DJ Nasty P on the kuts. ‘Shuya San’ sees a dedication from Joseph Malik’s music brother, Shuya Okino, from Kyoto Jazz Massive. Here, Shuya talks about their close personal bond and musical family connection in Edinburgh, related to the listener in Japanese. Daniel Walls plays the Shō, a Japanese bagpipe, to reinforce the blending of cultures with music created in Scotland. Side A signs off with the Dirty Soul meets Punk Funk monster, ‘Trouble with a Capital T’ which gives off bad boy attitude from the very first note. Joseph wrote this song when he was in a club in Madrid and met an enticing woman on the dance floor and they danced the night away. The original musical input came from Daniel Walls who envisioned the track as the essence of New York club, CBGBs meets Talking Heads anarchic ‘Psycho Killer ‘with the additional snarling guitar riff played by Suddenly WOW’s Otti Albiez.
