Kokoroko - Tuff Times Never Last - Limited edition Pink LP

Seven-piece London jazz outfit Kokoroko return to our ears with their triumphant sophomore album Tuff Times Never Last. It sounds just as its cover artwork looks – vibrant, joyous and dance-floor ready.

Kokoroko’s sound is built on connection. Forming when percussionist Onome Edgeworth and vocalist/trumpet player Shelia Maurice-Grey met on an arts trip in Kenya, they bonded over a desire to connect young people in the African diaspora through music. This sense of affinity rings true throughout the album.

Traversing neo-soul, funk and afrobeat, the 11-track project sees the band expand on their jazz roots, all while exploring themes of community, sensuality, and perseverance. It’s a celebration of life’s dualities. Of the album title, Edgeworth says “Although we’re reflecting on joy and celebration, you realise a lot of that beauty comes out of challenges and difficulties. Even in memory, the times that were tough tend to sweeten up”.

Tuff Times is a great winter pick-me-up for those of us not jetting off on a European summer. Opener “Never Lost” shimmers with a dreamy jazz-fusion that sounds tailor-made for Sunday afternoons spent with a spritz in hand, before triumphant horns take us into “Sweetie”, a breezy tune that’s become a fast favourite of mine. The refrain “sweetie make me heartbeat bounce” ebbs away over a neo-soul beat that you can’t help but bop along to.