After landing on the Radio 2 playlist with his recent singles ‘GOOD MAN’ and ‘BLACK OR WHITE’, UK soul star Jake Isaac will release his new album ‘BENJAMIN’ on 25th October 2024. What’s in a name? The answer to that question is at once both simple and symbolic. The basic fact is that ‘BENJAMIN’ is Jake’s middle-name, but it represents something more significant that seeps through every moment of the album. It’s a record in which Jake shares the sides of him that, like his middle-name, are hidden from public view, with nuanced reflections on his family’s heritage, his spirituality, and overcoming the obstacles that have emerged throughout his life journey.
Jake says, “I feel like deep down I’ve waited a long time to make this album. An album that truly reflects my musical upbringing and other dynamics in my life that go beyond just the topic of romance.”
‘BENJAMIN’ is the result of Jake fully embracing two core creative approaches. Thematically he wanted to explore who he is and where he has come from. The other was to complement the truth of his words with a sound that reflects his background as a musical director for Duffy and writer/produced for Gabrielle, Cynthia Erivo, Kat Burns and boy band Blue.
Together with co-producer Ian Barter (Amy Winehouse, Dermot Kennedy), he assembled a team of virtuoso musicians for ‘on the floor’ sessions at Eastcote Studios, west London, focusing on live performances with minimal overdubs. Backed by the likes of Junior Kirton (drummer for The Jackson Five and Leona Lewis), Gavin Powell (organist for Emeli Sandé and Stormzy) and Kat Deal (the solo artist Litening, and also a collaborator for Fleur East), Jake created a warm, organic live sound that gives his introspective lyrics an extra layer of affecting emotional resonance as he shares his truths.
While Jake’s ambition was to go beyond themes of love, the album’s new single ‘EVER YOURS’ is romance personified. Yet it more than fits the concept as it goes deeper than the prototype of what a love song should be. It’s a song that exalts long-term love and commitment, and the feelings of reliance, healing, understanding, and salvation that come with it. Love remains a mystery in so many ways, but the positivity that flows from Jake’s feel-good vocal somehow captures its essence.
He adds, “This is a song about the idea of something lasting forever. It feels so far and rare; the idea of people lasting forever and I felt like I wanted to talk about the possibility of it still happening in all its mess and ups and downs.”
The rest of ‘BENJAMIN’ possesses a timeless quality, with issues of faith and identity channeled into a record that feels like a classic soul for the modern age. It starts with a moment of meditative calm with the sparse, gospel ambiance of the instrumental ‘SELAH’. The album’s moods can be bittersweet (‘FOOLS FOR LOVE’) or glowing with optimism (‘ALL I NEED’), while ‘23’ looks back to his upbringing in a religious family and realises the strengths that it inspired in the man that he is today. Later there’s another moment of serene reflection on ‘SUNDAY MORNING’, before Jake echoes the spirit of Marvin Gaye with the acoustic closer ‘WHY’ which poses all of those unanswerable questions that come to mind in our most vulnerable moments.
So that’s Jake Isaac and ‘BENJAMIN’ – a new project from a highly acclaimed artist who dares to uncover the most authentic version of himself, both as a person and as a musician. The talent that has earned the attention of Sir Elton John and Stingis now set to be discovered by a whole new audience.
‘BENJAMIN’ is available to pre-order HERE.
Jake will follow the release of ‘BENJAMIN’ by playing a London headline show at Village Underground on November 2nd.
‘BENJAMIN’ tracklist:
1. ‘SELAH’
2. ‘FOOLS FOR LOVE’
3. ‘BLACK OR WHITE’
4. ‘OKAY’
5. ‘ALL I NEED’
6. ‘MISS WILHELMINA’
7. ‘GOOD MAN’
8. ‘23’
9. ‘EVER YOURS’
10. ‘SUNDAY MORNING (INTERLUDE)’
11. ‘WHY’
