The Sindecut & Ijeoma Share New Jazz-Inspired Single 'Lucky'

Pioneering British Hip-Hop crew The Sindecut (featuring founding member DJ Fingers) and New York-based Geordie, singer-songwriter Ijeoma share jazz-inspired single “Lucky”, the origin track for their upcoming debut album ‘Late’ (release date Friday 1st September via Tru Thoughts).

The new tune follows the lead single from the LP, “Different”, a track created on the day of Winnie Mandela's funeral and is about navigating and learning from life’s situations. 

“Lucky” has a rich jazz and big-band feel at its core, melding double bass and cinematic horns into an epic montage, with a swagger that soundtracks the streets of New York. Talking about the new song, the duo say: “It was the first song we wrote for the album, so it will always be special for us. We were testing out working together remotely. It just worked, so we built on that momentum and created the album.” 

“Lucky” features DJ Fingers' trademark larger-than-life drums and Ijeoma’s magnetic vocals. The single follows “Stand Tall”, an infectious slice of breakbeat street soul and The Sindecut and Ijeoma’s debut release on Tru Thoughts and marked a new chapter for the duo on the Brighton-based imprint.

Since signing with Tru Thoughts, The Sindecut & Ijeoma have won plaudits from the likes of Don Letts, Craig Charles (BBC 6Music), Mr Scruff, Bill Brewster and many more. ‘Late’ is the cumulative outcome garnered from a 20-year creative collaboration and vision between Karl (The Sindecut/DJ Fingers) and Jess (Ijeoma) and is being released as a super limited edition, hand-numbered, run of 500 vinyl, never to be repressed (in any format, variation or colour) ever again. 

The album features a host of stellar musicians, such as keyboardist Jackson Baird (Mama Sutra, Sean Khan, Marcina Arnold); jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player Kevin G Davy (Cymande, Kevin Davy Quartet D’Semble), who has recorded and toured with Finley Quaye, Lamb, Adam F and Lemn Sissay's Secret Society; and award-winning bassist/double bassist Rio Kai (Nérija, Seed, Stratos, Do Not Assume) who has performed with pillars of the jazz scene like Courtney Pine, Jason Yarde and Zoe Rahman. 

Talking about the upcoming record, Karl, aka DJ Fingers, says: “This album is a long time coming. I think the time has allowed us to mature in how we want to sound, and we are just attempting to build on our momentum creatively and are forever grateful to be collaborating with the musicians we work with.” Jess, aka Ijeoma, adds, “we paired the album with animations that interpret and bring to life the theme of each song on the record.”

London hip-hop collective The Sindecut are credited as one of the pioneers of the UK hip-hop scene, releasing the acclaimed ‘Changing The Scenery’ album in 1990 on Virgin Records (which was sampled by The Prodigy in “We Are The Ruffest” from the remix album of their classic ‘The Prodigy Experience’). The Sindecut were one of the first UK hip-hop groups to sign to a major label – fusing their sound with soul and reggae.

DJ Fingers is hailed as one of the first turntablists in the UK and featured in the iconic 1997 ‘Bad Meaning Good’ BBC documentary about UK hip-hop culture. A self-described Breakbeat DJ for MCs, he understands his role and link to the Sound System tradition. Influenced by the likes of Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, Grand Mixer DST, DJ Whizz Kid, and DJ Jazzy Jay – Fingers’ fundamental mantra is the running theme of “Knowledge of Self”, which he always strives to push conceptually through his many projects. 

Ijeoma first began songwriting as a child using an old stereo for tape-to-tape recordings: “I would switch cassettes back and forth, plugging in a mic to layer vocal harmonies”. Later, she started performing her material at hip-hop and drum and bass nights on open mics. First in Newcastle, and then London, which led her to meet DJ Fingers. A talented graphic designer, Ijeoma leads the creative direction for The Sindecut and Ijeoma.

The Sindecut spent their early days performing at the Swiss Cottage Community Centre, before releasing an eponymous debut single in 1986. Other members congregated around the nucleus of rapper Crazy Noddy and DJ Fingers, including Lyne Lyn (rapper), DJ Don’t Ramp (producer), Mix Man G, Mad P and, later, Spike Tee and Louise Francis. Various members travelled to America in 1987/8 to get a contract with B-Boy Records but lost out on the chance when label boss Bill Kamarra was sent to prison. 

They elected to set up their own label, Jgunglelist, instead (an interesting use of the term before it was used by the ‘jungle’ UK club movement). The Sindecut made their name with the infectious rhythms of ‘Posse’. It was an imposing stew of ragga vocals and hip-hop breaks. Their first club hit, though, was ‘Sindecut Kickin’ Yeah’, on another independent label, Baad.

They grew up with the similarly formulated Soul II Soul, merging soul and reggae with rap: “It's just our influences, really. Americans have a lot of influences, but they tend to make one type of music. We want to make music that we are influenced by and put it together into a new sound”. Their debut album showcased raps backed by orchestrated strings and frantic live drums - an almost ‘new age’ hip-hop affair.

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