”…..a resounding and deeply human triumph into which he pours his heart, his soul, his body, and his mind.” – Atwood Magazine
”Idehen is a firm favorite of the music industry, having already worked on a plethora of
projects in the UK Jazz and electronic scene, contributing vocals to two Mercury-prize nominated albums” – Clash Magazine
”…one of the most interesting artist in the world” – Jan Gradvall / DI
Often the weight of the world rests heavy on our shoulders. We worry for our loved ones, about what’s around the corner, for strangers half a world away facing unimaginable odds. We wish that our present looked as bright as the future that we were promised, that our past would stop catching up with us, and that we could return to that state of childlike freedom. To worry and to wish; it’s a natural part of the human experience. However, it’s what we do when up against adversity that defines us. This is a key message to Johshua Idehen’s newest track ‘All You Can Do Is Try’. Enmeshed in this soulful club anthem, the Stockholm-based British-Nigerian musician and poet delivers words of vulnerability in his distinct spoken-word style. While his voice offers a sage reflection on life’s challenges, the chorus provides the supportive encouragement to those troubles – “sometimes all you can do is try, alright, I’m saying, sometimes all you can do is try, and that’ll have to be alright, I promise it’ll be alright.”
As Idehen recounts, this empathetic motto was an organic creation. Here he speaks about the backstory to the single: “It was the first song we made after we finished the first project, Learn to swim. I was on a UK support tour when Ludvig sent this amazing beat which sounded to me like an expansion on the sounds from ‘I Got You Every Step Of The Way’ so it felt right to continue along the theme of self acceptance. Was trying out some chorus ideas when I found out on one of the tour nights I would be performing to two people. Sucked to hell, I’d been weirdly serene about at the time. I took a photo and texted it to my partner, with the words all you can do is try, and she responded “I promise that will be alright ” and ding! The chorus wrote itself.”
‘All You Can Do Is Try’ is infused with a feel-good atmosphere, encasing Idehen’s explosive creativity and soulful voice in euphoric keys, lively hi-hats, and pulsating beats. Crafted with producer and instrumentalist Ludvig Parment, this track fuses poetry with modern club sounds in a natural, free-flowing way that walks the line between a profound and dance-inducing listen.
Following the single are remixes from Swedish DJ and producer Bella Boo (7th June) who takes those effervescent beats and club aesthetic a step further with her dynamic rendition, and iconic Swedish DJ Mr. Tophat (14th June), who is a long-time friend and collaborator with Robyn.
Joshua Idehen is a spoken word artist, poet, musician, and mainstay of the jazz and electronic scene. His poems feature on The Comet Is Coming’s album Channel The Spirit (Mercury Prize nominated) and Sons of Kemet’s albums Your Queen Is A Reptile and Black Is The Future (MOBO Award winning). He also formed a spiritual jazz crew, Calabashed, with Alabaster DePlume, and collaborated with L.A. electronic maestro Daedelus on the critically acclaimed mini-album, Holy Water Over Sons.
Following his 2023 mixtape, Learn To Swim (“a poetic masterpiece” – Afropunk), Joshua Idehen continues his solo project into 2024 with a fresh collaboration with Metronomy, titled With Balance, and an upcoming headline London show at Corsica Studios (30th May).