Sam Akpro has shared new collaborative single ‘Wayside’, featuring a guest appearance from London soul artist Tyson.
Released via ANTI-, the track marks Akpro’s first new material since the arrival of his debut album Evenfall, a project widely praised for its post-punk textures, dub rhythms and psychedelic ambience.
‘Wayside’ continues that aesthetic but moves into slower, more meditative territory. Built around woozy basslines, loose percussion and flashes of brass, the track unfolds as a nocturnal slowburner that sits somewhere between trip-hop and neo-soul. Akpro’s voice intertwines with Tyson’s guest vocals, the pair trading lines over an off-kilter groove shaped by Akpro and longtime collaborator Finn Billingham.
Akpro says the song emerged from a period of transition following the completion of Evenfall. “It’s about moving from one change to another and the feeling of isolation that brings.”
The collaboration itself took shape in unusual circumstances. Akpro and Tyson initially began recording the track together at Billingham’s studio in Camberwell, but the session was abruptly halted by a fire in a neighbouring building. Work continued remotely, with Tyson eventually completing her vocals from a studio in New York.
She explains that the emotional core of the track immediately resonated with her. “When Sam asked me to be on this track I felt like the lyrics could almost have been thoughts in my own head. It’s about being frustrated with yourself and life, going round and round in the same place, but finding something hypnotic and soothing in that.”
The release follows a strong critical response to Evenfall, which drew praise across publications including Rolling Stone UK, NME and MOJO. The album fused punk, hip-hop, dub and psychedelic influences into what many critics described as a distinctive South London sonic landscape.
Built around a core backing band and co-produced with frequent collaborator Shrink, the record established Akpro as one of the capital’s most intriguing emerging voices.
With ‘Wayside’, he extends that universe further, leaning deeper into atmosphere while continuing to blur genre boundaries.
‘Wayside’ is out now.
