Mackampa wears his heart on his sleeve from start to finish while listeners are anchored by catchy choruses and danceable rhythms. “PLAYGROUND” opens the album, looking back at the simplicity of being a kid through rose-tinted glasses. The next track, “PROUD OF YOU,” is introspective and looks beyond the rose-tint by vocalizing Mackampa’s revelations after examining his difficult upbringing. Featuring a rich use of keys, drums, and brass to back up his smooth vocals, Mackampa has us belting out heartfelt lyrics alongside him.

The production value of this album is incredibly high, matching Mackampa’s skills as a vocalist. Funk rhythms, full brass sections, and bold drums are present throughout. He dabbles heavily with soul, blues, and R&B while incorporating orchestral elements and UK rap as well. A personal favorite, “GIRLS ON FILM” showcases a catchy chorus accompanied by orchestral strings and haunting backup vocals while slightly downtempo drums guide us through. Mackampa is not a one-trick pony and clearly thrives in the musical space when patching together any genres and sounds he desires so long as he is being true to himself.

Featured on COLORSxSTUDIOS, Mackampa’s performance of “MARY” slows it down, highlighting his talent as a gospel singer and captivating performer. The complexity of the album’s sound grows as Mackampa raps on “FRIENDS YOU’VE MADE” in his British accent, showcasing his ability to shape-shift throughout a performance. You can envision him giving a show-stopping performance in a sweaty concert hall, a small jazz club, or a church on Sunday morning.

Characteristics of the musical styles that he is influenced by, church, and God are active themes throughout Mackampa’s project. Attending church is referenced lyrically but his preaching vocals further speak to his upbringing. On the album cover, there is a subtle cross in the glass door that Mackampa is stepping into, showing how he thrives in the details of his work. The reinforcement of this theme makes the album feel whole, intentional, and mature. You can feel and hear the tireless investment that Mackampa put into this polished project.

WELCOME HOME, KID! highlights Jordan Mackampa’s confidence that one would think has come naturally to him his whole life. Every song on the album is vulnerable and raw; touching on childhood nostalgia, reflecting on your past although difficult, believing in yourself 1000%, dropping friends who don’t stick their necks out for you, romantic struggles, and more. The project is truly a lesson in confidence being unlocked by honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity.

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See complete tour dates here.

Photo credit: Aidan Harmitt-Williams

The post Jordan Mackampa peels back the layers on sophomore album “Welcome Home, Kid!” appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Getting to this place has taken Jordan decades of growth, patience & grueling lessons to reach this state and now he can stand in his Blackness proudly. This album tells the story of how he got to this place of self-worth and the stories of the varying complex but beautiful perspectives about the Black experience. He is open and honest about sex, intimacy, imposter syndrome, and how he navigates healthy love, toxic heartbreak, friendships, and forgiveness.

This April will see Jordan take to stages across the U.S. and Canada. Get your tickets below to catch his spellbinding live show where he will be performing songs from Welcome Home, Kid! for the first time.

See an interview with Jordan from a while back here.

Get tickets on jordanmackampa.com

Tour dates:

April 18      Washington, D.C. @ Songbyrd
April 19        New York, NY @ Baby’s All Right
April 20      Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
April 22     Toronto, ON @ Drake Underground
April 24    Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
April 26        Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
April 27      Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
April 29     San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
April 30      Los Angeles, CA @ The Moroccan Lounge

Cover image by Aidan Harmitt-Williams

The post Jordan Mackampa prepares for a North American tour appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Jordan Mackampa is (currently) best known for his 2016 EP, Physics, especially “Yours to Keep” and “What Could Have Been.” Four years later he delivers his first album, Foreigner, with the same sweet soul, but with more spunk.

Foreigner opens with “Magic,” a jangly pop-funk tune that swifts one far from the COVID-19 enclosures to a tropical restaurant on Maui. Blithely repeating “I can’t get enough of your love,” for a couple dozen times, Mackampa ends the mantra with a sly, upturned smile, a bouquet of soul, R&B, and pop.

Mackampa says Foreigner has been in the works 25 years (his entire life), and there’s a lovely autobiographical quality to tracks like “Love at First Sight.” It’s one of those signposts of maturity that stay with us forever.

And why is this debut album called Foreigner?

The soul singer was born in the Congo then moved to London before he was two-years-old. With an Estuary accent, he says his Congolese roots gave him the rhythm and melody that appears in the album growing up. In England, he formed a more folky, indie style when he picked up the guitar around 11.

The emotional terrain in Foreigner is quite autobiographical, but the lyrics never get into specifics. It’s instead expressed through repetition of lyrics like “I’ll keep holding on till you let go,” as in the track “Tight,” one of the sweetest songs about a hug ever. The repetition does pop proud, and like any reliable earworm (or sermon) repetition makes “Tight” one of the catchier songs on Foreigner.

When asked what people get from his music, Mackampa replied, “a man who’s very honest with his emotions and feelings, and it comes out through his music.”

It’s the strength and occasional weakness of the record. “What Am I” is a similarly beautiful song, but it ends up fitting into a Mackampa template that starts to fatigue. There are lovely string sections and a lonely trumpet shuffling in the corner, but there’s a danger of the constant honesty venturing into a lovely monotone. The more generous interpretation of this is, as a wise YouTube viewer of Mackampa’s view for “Magic” writes: “You literally never make a bad song.”

Perhaps crescendos will be used in the next album, or he’ll play with passagio in live performances. The track “Parachutes” doesn’t fly up or down as much as parasail for several minutes. “If ignorance is bliss, then I’d be better off not knowing you,” is pleasantly rendered, but a tired emotion we need some newness behind to take notice.

The second half of the album becomes more personal and deeply charged. In the title track, Mackampa wonders about his mother tongue, what disconnection he feels in a foreign space; the slow introduction and solitary voice eventually get a galloping fleet of drums. “I will not stay where I’m not wanted/but I don’t want to leave,” in a higher register that echoes Jeff Buckley.

The beauty continues with an imagined letter from the singer’s father. “Care for Your Mother” has the classic (if tired and gendered) troupe of the father telling the son to take care of his mother in ways that the father couldn’t. Mackampa’s spectral voice is nearly powerful enough to excuse the father.

Foreigner smartly wraps up with the poppy beat “Warning Signs.” We get a flash of casual brilliance with “I was blinded by the taste of your skin.” He couldn’t see the warning signs that this certain someone was no good for him. What a great conclusion to one’s first quarter of life.

The post Why we fell in love with Jordan Mackampa at first sight. Review of “Foreigner” appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Mackampa hails from the UK and has a small but strong collection of singles and an EP in his repertoire. His pop-infused productions, soulful voice and strong, poetic lyrics haven been slowly paving a pathway to success that’s inevitably about to come. Earlier this month we chatted with Jordan about his process and music career so far. As one might imagine from that conversation Mackapma is calm and collected and appears just as such in front of the live audience.

The set began solemnly with  “What Could Have Been” from his Physics EP (2016) – what he called a “not happy” but “not a sad” song. Listening to the lyrics this middle ground is quite evident and a bit sad: ‘We could never know if this house could be a home / For more than day or two / There’s no happy ever after..’ Despite the lonesome lyrical story the song created a breathable and light atmosphere in the small room – a great start to the night.

This show, in one of Toronto’s most historic dives, was Mackampa’s first time in Canada: “Today I’ve tried something called Tim Horton’s,” he shared, “I had something called an egg and sausage biscuit,” he shrugged his shoulders in confusion as the crowd laughed. For the next song, “Saint,” a slightly more fast-paced track with heavy guitar, Jordan invited the fans to sing along. A few people in the audience were very familiar with the lyrics, belting them at the top of their lungs, endearingly out of key.

“Thank you that was beautiful Jordan,” someone yelled during the quiet pause.

For the second half of the set, Jordan moved into slower tracks like “Midnight,” sharing deeply personal stories with the room between the songs. Sadly, venues like these don’t carry sound well all the way to the back, swallowing the singer’s softly told stories into the void of the chatter. The front of the room, however, felt like a deeply intimate living room show.

For 30 minutes, Jordan worked his way through the songs jumping the timeline from “One in the Same” (2018) to most recent singles like “What Am I” – a modern take on Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On.” Wrapping up his short performance with a “Thank you” Jordan left the stage to greet the fans at the merch table where he stayed for the rest of the night, smiling and shaking hands.

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Jordan Mackampa’s debut album Foreigner is set to drop on March 13th, 2020, but for now, here’s the most recent single  “Parachutes.”

The post Jordan Mackampa plays his first Canadian set at the Horseshoe Tavern appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Ahead of Mackampa is a North American and European tour, which he kicked off in Dallas on October 25th with a British indie rock band Amber Run. Like any other urban visitor, Jordan explores a local neighborhood, taking pictures of “nice looking things” which we then see on his Instagram feed, but there’s more Jordan had to share with us in anticipation of his visit to the 6ix.

Kateryna Topol: Hello Jordan, so you’re on tour, any cities you are particularly looking forward to?

Jordan Mackampa: New York, Chicago, Toronto (obviously), and Salt Lake City, but being able to travel around the states in itself is a dream come true, the shows have been so great thus far.

KT: You’re touring with another band, Amber Run, how is that relationship coming along?

JM: We’ve quickly turned it to a tight-knit family in the past week or so we’ve been together, which just makes everything a lot more fun. I’ll be very sad to leave them all, once the tour is over, but I’ll deal with those tears once I get there! 

KT: I’ve read your love for music began in early childhood but when did you decide to pursue a career in music, what motivated that?

JM: I’ve always wanted to pursue music, although I really knuckled down with the idea during my 2nd year of university.

KT: I love the instrumentals on “What Am I” – is that all you or are you working with a band?

JM: I was lucky enough to have some of the best session musicians in the game working on my album with me, which made the whole recording process a breeze, especially when my music theory knowledge is sub-par. Being able to explain the tone, sound and feel I’m after in different sections, without feeling stupid was truly a blessing.

KT: How does the collaboration with the band work? 

JM: I play with three other incredibly talented musicians, and it’s definitely an ‘everyone is free to share ideas’ kinda set up, with the understanding that if I want something played a certain way, it’s a done deal.

KT: Can you walk us through your songwriting process a little 

JM: It’s nothing special, to be honest! A bunch of mumbling into my phone, leaving it on a loop for hours once I’ve found a melody I like, then endless writing, scratching out sentences and formatting until I’ve got something semi-decent! 

KT: Typical writer things then. Looking back, over the last few years, what would you say the highlights of your music career have been? 

JM: Recording an album was definitely one, playing British Summer Time with Tom Petty just before he passed away was incredibly special for me, and being able to quit my two jobs and focus on my music career a few years back was something too.

KT: That must’ve felt amazing! What about challenges, were there any? 

JM: Many! Trying to balance two jobs and a growing music career, as well as my own struggles with my mental health was certainly a challenge. But I feel as though I’m in a place mentally, that’s a lot healthier and more certain of what my career is going to look like over the next 3 years.

KT: Sounds very promising! What is next for you, looking ahead into 2020?

JM: Tours, tours, writing, debut album, tours, writing – this is just a constant loop of what runs through my mind! 

KT: Hehe, looking forward to seeing it all realized! Thank you very much for your time, see you in Toronto!

JM: My pleasure, see you then! 

Photos by Josh Shinner

Tour dates:

The post Quick interview with Jordan Mackampa on his North America tour and creative process appeared first on Quip Magazine.