Alfa Mist | Hamburg

In the organizer's words:

Emotion before perfectionism. This is the credo that drives the tireless creativity of multi-instrumentalist, rapper and producer Alfa Mist.

Since the release of his first album Nocturne in 2015, Alfa has established himself as one of the UK's most focused, in-demand and distinctive musicians. He has collaborated with the likes of Jordan Rakei and Tom Misch. Artists appreciate him for his unique blend of intimate bedroom production and expansive jazz orchestration, as Alfa cannot yet be pigeonholed into a specific genre. His music ranges from hip-hop beats and productions for artists such as rapper Loyle Carner to neo-classical compositions for the London Contemporary Orchestra and reinterpretations of pieces by composer Ólafur Arnalds and the seminal jazz label Blue Note.

Alfa grew up in East London and found jazz in an unexpected way. "Where I come from, there is no access to jazz," he says. "Society made us believe that for black kids who had as much money as I did, there were only three ways to be successful: To become a musician, an athlete or a criminal." Thanks to the vibrancy of the grime scene that was spreading across the capital, Alfa naturally gravitated towards music. During his school breaks, he played with music production software and learned to put together quick grime instrumentals. As he became more involved with British rap and hip-hop, he became curious about the samples used on records by Blackstar, Madlib and J Dilla. "These producers were my gateway to jazz," he comments. They eventually prompted him to teach himself to play the piano by ear in order to decipher the harmonic subtleties of their influential tracks.

By 2017, Alfa had written, arranged and produced the eight tracks that make up his debut album Antiphon. Featuring bassist and vocalist Kaya Thomas-Dyke and guitarist Jamie Leeming, who are still members of his band today, Alfa mixed snippets of conversations with his two older brothers about the importance of family amidst complex, driving instrumentals and lush acoustic arrangements. It was a breakthrough success, garnering over 10 million views on YouTube and millions more on Spotify, and marking Alfa out as a new talent with a remarkably mature and confident attitude in the studio.

The albums that followed, 2019's Structuralism and 2021's debut album for ANTI- Bring Backs, continued Alfa's musical self-reflection. Structuralism contained nine searching, yet deeply soulful tracks that question how we formulate our identity through Alfa's experience of being raised by his Ugandan mother. Bring Backs, on the other hand, was characterized by groovy experimentation and meandering fragments linked by a remarkable poem by

Hilary Thomas, which expressed the sensual reality of building a community in a new country. Always based on his own experiences, Bring Backs shows Alfa at his most exposed, expressing the constant worry of not being able to escape the insecurity of poverty even when success is just around the corner.

While his earlier works were largely characterized by a midtempo feel and a meandering self-analysis through instrumentation, Alfa's fifth album Variables shows a new intensity and sense of purpose. "The whole album is uptempo and influenced by the freedom of being able to play gigs again," explains Alfa. "It felt like I was going back to my early days of making grime beats and creating tracks that made me bob my head quickly."

The return to live shows was a welcome change for Alfa and his fans, leading to an instantly sold out string of debut shows in the US as well as headlining performances at London's Barbican, Outernet, Cross The Tracks and the prestigious Sydney Opera House. The urgent energy of Alfa's five-piece band adds an infectious vitality to his concerts and provides instinctive responses to his music in the studio. "We always have limited time and record as a band, which means we can only do two takes - if you want a third, we have to delete one," Alfa says. "That means I make very careful decisions before recording, but once I hand the music over to the band, I let them bring their own expressions to the moment."

It is this balance between emotion and perfectionism that ultimately gives Alfa's music its depth

and its replayability. It is also an approach to life that has enabled his remarkable work ethic to this day. "I've never been an artist who releases an album every four years - I want to release new projects every year," he says. "Music is an extension of my life; it's the practice of creating."

For his latest Sekito album, Alfa draws on his stellar 2024 performance with Manchester's extraordinary string quartet Amika Quartet at the renowned Kings Place (London) and captures the magic of that evening in a stunning live album. Featuring a handful of brand new, never-before-heard tracks (alongside a number of additions to previous releases), Alfa takes inspiration from classic live jazz recordings on Recurring, capturing a unique moment that can never be repeated or replayed.

Alfa Mist continues to develop his creative vision and has announced his new album Roulette, which will be released on October 3rd on his own label Sekito Records. Roulette is a sci-fi concept album set in a dystopian near future where reincarnation is a scientifically proven fact. Conceived, written and produced by Alfa, the album features contributions from New York rapper Homeboy Sandman, British soul singer Tawiah and singer and multi-instrumentalist Kaya Thomas-Dyke. Along with the announcement of the album, Alfa has announced a special headline show at London's prestigious Royal Albert Hall on November 25th. This performance in his hometown will be a unique opportunity for fans to see him perform material from his previous releases as well as several new songs from Roulette.

"Music is a gift that never stops giving because I'm always trying to discover something new," he says. "There will always be a question, and I'm just looking for new ways to answer it." We are the lucky ones who get to hear Alfa's soulful answers.

On February 2 , Alfa Mist will be coming to the Mojo Club in Hamburg with his new album in his luggage.