Alfa Mist

In the organizer's words:

Alfa Mist *live*

Alfa Mist is releasing his new album Roulette on October 3, 2025 on his label Sekito Records. It includes contributions from Homeboy Sandman, Tawiah and Kaya Thomas-Dyke - and he will also be coming to Berlin on the tour for the album.

Alfa Mist puts feeling above perfectionism, a credo that drives his creativity as a multi-instrumentalist, rapper and producer. Since his debut Nocturne (2015), he has been regarded as one of the most distinctive voices on the British scene, with collaborations with Jordan Rakei, Tom Misch and Loyle Carner, among others. His music moves between hip-hop beats, jazz ensemble orchestration and neoclassical works.

Growing up in East London, Alfa found his way to jazz via grime. "There was no access to jazz where I came from. We were made to believe that black kids only had three options: Musician, athlete or criminal," he says. He made his first grime instrumentals at school, later discovered jazz samples through producers such as Madlib and J Dilla and taught himself piano.

His breakthrough came in 2017 with Antiphon: complex instrumentals met snippets of conversations with his brothers about family. Structuralism (2019) focused on identity and the influence of his Ugandan mother. Bring Backs (2021) combined groove experiments with a poem by Hilary Thomas about community in exile and showed Alfa unprotected in dealing with poverty and success. With Variables (2023), he brought back more pace and energy, inspired by a return to live performances. This live energy also characterizes his shows - from London's Barbican to the Sydney Opera House. He works with his band according to a clear principle: recordings are made on tape, only two takes are allowed. "I make meticulous decisions in advance, but give the band complete freedom at the moment," he says. The interplay of control and spontaneity characterizes his sound.

At the same time, Alfa founded his label Sekito, where he releases his own projects, promotes artists such as Kaya Thomas-Dyke and Jamie Leeming and hosts the podcast Are We Live with Barney Artist and Jordan Rakei. In 2024, he released Recurring, a live album with the Amika Quartet - inspired by classic live jazz recordings, capturing a unique moment that can never be repeated.
Now he returns with Roulette: a sci-fi concept album set in a dystopian future where reincarnation is scientifically proven. Conceived, written and produced by Alfa himself, it continues his tradition of interweaving personal experiences with visionary concepts.

"Music is a gift that never stops giving," he says. "There will always be a question - and I'm looking for new ways to answer it."