The spirit of post-punk is alive and well. That was, quite simply, the only way this piece could begin, following a gig headlined by Wu-Lu for the End of the Road Xmas Party.
It’s a spirit, not a style – one designed to wake you from your slumber, from an artist who’s been surrounded by music for as long as he can remember.
Just a day prior, I’d met with him (his real name, Miles Romans-Hopcraft) near a humble shipping-container-turned-recording-studio on Trinity Wharf, which he described as ‘like a sardine can of greatness’, as his big mane of hair billowed in the wind, his eyes twinkling from recent successes in the industry.
It’s a spirit, not a style – one designed to wake you from your slumber
The dockland setting seemed fitting for an artist whose stage name is a take on the Amharic word for water, ‘wu-ha’ – the slight deviation so as not to be confused with a Busta Rhymes track.
It’s also a name that makes sense due to his largely indefinable sound, which flows steadily between genres, traversing lo-fi, electronic, psychedelic guitar, and hip-hop. Yet that spirit – expressed in a sonic frenzy – persists across his tracks to date.
Miles is at an impressive juncture, having recently signed with Warp Records, the illustrious imprint that’s home to some of the most endlessly interesting (and allusive) contemporary artists. Boards of Canada, Bibio, Brian Eno, Yves Tumor, Kelela, and, of course – most mysterious of all – Aphex Twin. These are just some of the names who have dazzled and dazed us in equal measure over the years since the label’s inception in the late 80s, and whom Wu-Lu now finds himself amongst.
I trust their opinion rather than it just being a relationship with a label – they do things a certain way
‘In my research, [Warp] came up as a home that would allow artists to develop into whatever they see fit. So, it’s just the obvious choice, a pretty natural progression.
‘They have the confidence in what I do and an open mind. I trust their opinion rather than it just being a relationship with a label because they do things a certain way. It just feels like they’re singing from the same hymn sheet.’
He pauses, perhaps taking in the esteem of their roster: ‘It still doesn’t feel real.’
For the eager listener, perhaps such a move could have been foreseen. Rounding off ‘Being Me’ – one of the three tracks he released to critical acclaim earlier this year, before signing to Warp – is a stuttering, halted, energetic electro segment. It’s the kind of uncontainable, raucous sound Warp knows better than most how to nurture.
And Miles has already made a start to his Warp period, releasing the beautifully dark single ‘Broken Homes’, which is accompanied by a video directed by Denisha Anderson – ‘One of my best friends,’ Miles says.
Much like everything Wu-Lu does, the song is rooted in his beloved Brixton
The visuals are inspired by the film Blade (1998), and ‘the concept of getting your blood sucked, getting your energy taken away from you. We were portraying a scene that looks on people from different backgrounds and all the different scenes – the grungers, the rappers – and how all of us can be experiencing similar family life that affects our day-to-day.’
Much like everything Wu-Lu does, the song is rooted in his beloved Brixton, where he grew up, showing a kid ‘fending for himself’, born out of ‘things that I’ve experienced myself… and things I’ve heard from other people – a common narrative among people’s day-to-day upbringing.
Array‘But it’s also trying to be a little of a kick up the ass, basically saying, “Stand firm, hold your ground, you’re bigger” – so hopefully people can understand that.
‘We are not without community. No man is an island. You need help, and people there to help as well. I would love to see all of my people around me do their own thing as well as be involved in the growth of my thing.
We are not without community. No man is an island. You need help, and people there to help as well
‘It’s really important. It’s all about perspective, community and headspace, and how that transpires or is shared among other people in similar life situations. It always ties into community.’
Such community-driven inspiration is evident in another of Wu-Lu’s recent tracks, ‘South’, which is named after the hype and energy of South London.
‘It really just feels like a melting pot. Everyone uses the studio and the rehearsal room. Sometimes we put bands on together through each other, put on recording sessions. It’s like what music in my mind has always been; Miles Davis and John Coltrane playing on each other’s records while doing their solo thing, all that sort of stuff.
‘When you go deep into rap or grime music, too, it’s the same producer clearly working with this person and similar people; it’s like-minded people making a statement or singing a similar song and wanting to see each other do well and inspire new growth.’
It’s like what music in my mind has always been; like Miles Davis and John Coltrane playing on each other’s records
With an impressive array of other rising artists surrounding him, including the likes of Lianne La Havas (‘That’s my bredren,’ Miles says, discussing the remix he did of her track ‘Seven Times’), this creative feedback loop is sure to engender even more glorious sounds, and capture an energy and spirit of our times. ‘There’s things to come, I’m sure,’ he adds, knowingly.
For Miles, such a plethora of musical sounds was the norm throughout his childhood – and, in truth, it’s all he’s ever really known. His father, Robin Hopcraft, was one of the founding members of the band Soothsayers, making Miles not only sonically acclimatised to the rhythms of jazz, funk, afrobeat and more from a young age, but also used to touring and hitting the road with a band.
‘Doing music wasn’t steady for a while. But there was no other choice. There was no plan B, it was like, “I’m doing music.” Regardless of life, I’m always gonna do music, I’m always going to be into it, I’m always going to love making music. Music just does it for me. So that was basically always the driver.
‘Even now though, man, nothing’s guaranteed. I’m making this album, I’m gonna put it out into the world. My plan is just to express myself and hope that it will resonate with people.
What Miles is touching on is the climax of the human life force: pure expression in an authentic manner
‘Really and truly as well, the whole community aspect of what I’m writing about and why it isn’t just all about me in the songs is to try and give the confidence to people who think it’s impossible, or who think you have to do things a certain way, in terms of making music: what you talk about, how you dress. You can do it however you feel, and people will connect with you – I’m living proof of that.’
What Miles is touching on is the climax of the human life force: pure expression in an authentic manner. His infusion of all manner of sounds and genres now makes sense. This is an artist, born and raised with the sounds of his father’s band, and developed through his own turntablism and sampling background, now at the burning stage of unleashing himself creatively.
‘I envisage it as a collage of stuff that I like, in any shape or form. Basically, it’s just motive music. It’s all led by feeling. And if it feels right, then that’s the song.
‘Where I’m coming from – a sampling background – I would always be listening to the smaller sounds, the things behind the notes or what makes up that feeling (“Is it those strings and that drums and that bass? Without that melody, what’s on top of it? Or is it just a groove?”). So that’s what I’m always trying to harness and base it off that.
I envisage it as a collage of stuff that I like, in any shape or form. It’s just motive music
‘And it can be anything. It can be it can be some jazz stuff, it can be some hip hop stuff, some rock stuff, some classical stuff, some folky stuff, some electronic stuff, some jungle stuff.’
This expressive experimentation – this ‘motive music’, as he so pithily puts it – is the kind of output that endeared him to last year’s fans at the End of the Road festival, where, admittedly anecdotally (i.e., mates I trust who went), he played the best set. What’s more, showing once more those family, community roots, he played alongside his twin brother, Ben.
‘It was sick. Mad. It was something that should have happened ages ago. I launched myself off the stage. Didn’t make it all the way, but maybe next time. I managed to get halfway in the crowd.’
And so it was that the following day, at the End of the Road Xmas Party (before the Tories had to go and make them all so scandalous), Wu-Lu was headlining, providing an opportunity once more for a glimpse into such a set.
I launched myself off the stage. Didn’t make it all the way, but maybe next time
Whilst the crowd was clearly smaller than a festival, making stage diving a foolish move, the spirit he summoned still amounted to an almighty headbanger of a set. (At one point, though, his bassist did in fact join us below, stirring up a mosh pit and whipping us into a frenzy.)
Indeed, the spirit of post-punk is alive and well. In fact, fuck it: it’s kicking and screaming with big, beautiful beats, and Wu-Lu is its emerging leader.
For your chance to catch Wu-Lu, catch him headlining Village Underground in June. Click here for more information.
