Motherland Journey Blue Lab Beats

• 1Sky Reflections (Intro)01:21
• 2Labels05:21
• 3I’ll Be Here For You04:06
• 4Gotta Go Fast03:50
• 5A Vibe03:38
• 6Don’t Let It Get Away03:56
• 7Inhale & Exhale (Interlude)01:56
• 8Blow You Away (Delilah)03:20
• 9Sensual Loving02:53
• 10Motherland Journey04:19
• 11Ultramarine (Interlude)01:58
• 12Warp04:25
• 13Slow Down04:16
• 14Dat It04:46
• 15Home03:35
• 16Real Good03:27
• 17Reflection (Outro)03:12
• Total Runtime01:00:19

Info for Motherland Journey

London-based Jazztronica duo Blue Lab Beats make their full-length Blue Note Records debut with Motherland Journey, an album years in the making that is a celebration of pushing boundaries, taking risks, and overcoming adversity. Following their appearance on 2020’s acclaimed Blue Note Re:imagined project, and their 2021 EP We Will Rise, the new album is a star-studded affair featuring the duo—producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM—joined by collaborators including Ghetto Boy, Kiefer, Kofi Stone, Tiana Major9, KillBeatz, Teni Tinks, Poppy Daniels, Emmavie, Jackson Mathod, Kaidi Akinnibi, Ego Ella May, Pip Millett, Dylan Jones, and Jerome Thomas.

One of the fastest-rising production duos in the world right now, with a Grammy nomination for their work on the Angelique Kidjo album Mother Nature, and a MOBO nomination for ‘Best Jazz Act’ in 2021 testament to their rise, Blue Lab Beats craft a supple, wide-ranging sound inspired by the pioneers of hip-hop and the music of the African diaspora while staying true to their London roots.

“Motherland journey is a very special song to us especially having a legendary Fela Kuti feature on this track,” Blue Lab Beats explain. “We made this song when we were in Ghana with the one and only Killbeatz. When we got confirmation to have Fela Kuti‘s vocals from his publishers in Nigeria we were honestly blown away that he could really feature on our tracks. An absolute dream come true. When we got Poppy and Kaidi to play the horn line then we definitely got the song we wanted."

One of the fastest-rising production duos in the world right now, Blue Lab Beats consists of producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM. Starting out as bedroom producers, remixing tracks from A-listers such as Dua Lipa and Rag’N’Bone Man, the pair quickly grew into something far more potent - crafting a supple, wide-ranging sound inspired by the pioneers of hip-hop and the music of the African diaspora while staying true to their London roots.

With over 32 million streams and having played Glastonbury as well as supporting the likes of Roy Ayers and Thundercat, Blue Lab Beats releases such as 2017 EP Freedom, with its stand out track "Sam Cooke & Marvin Gaye", or 2018’s XOver, a debut album brimming with hits including the eight-million-times-streamed "Pineapple" and the acclaimed "Sam Cooke & Marvin Gaye" featuring Kojey Radical and Tiana Major9, have proved how popular their sound has quickly become. Releases such as the 2019 EP Vibe Central, which has features from Grammy-nominated trumpeter Theo Croker, and statement track "Hi There", a soulful instrumental sermon that also appears on Blue Lab’s 2020 album Voyage, has brought them further success. They also performed a sold out hometown show at Hootananny Brixton in November, sounding off what was another career-defining year in style.

One of their most daring and sonically challenging tracks they have ever created, "Motherland Journey" further heightens the anticipation for the release of the album of the same name.

Blue Lab Beats

Blue Lab Beats
Following their appearance on the acclaimed 2020 project Blue Note Re:imagined and the release their 2021 EP We Will Rise, the London duo Blue Lab Beats—producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM—make their full-length Blue Note Records debut with Motherland Journey.

The vibes are strong on everything this pair cook up inside Blue Lab HQ, including their sublime take on vibist Bobby Hutcherson’s 1975 classic “Montara” which appeared on the 2020 collection Blue Note Re:imagined. “To be affiliated with Blue Note, whose artists we’ve grown up with, and whose music and politics have influenced us, was exciting,” says Mr DM. One of the fastest-rising production duos in the world right now, with a Grammy nomination for their work on the Angelique Kidjo album Mother Nature, and a MOBO nomination for ‘Best Jazz Act’ in 2021 testament to their rise, Blue Lab Beats craft a supple, wide-ranging sound that blends boom-bap grooves and jazz-funk hooks are wide-ranging influences inspired by the pioneers of hip-hop and the music of the African diaspora; a sound that tells of London, of today, while hinting at the future.

This album contains no booklet.