Boxwork - Dive Left (2017)

South London’s Shades Recordings is excited to announce Dive Left, the first full length offering from James Wilson, aka Boxwork.

Boxwork is a producer that’s hard to pin down, and he likes it that way. Left alone in the corner with his toys, he has created an intensely personal record which is at once dark and vivid, melodic and hardbitten. Dive Left is the work of an instinctive musical talent who refuses to sit still.

“This record is my mind represented in music. My hopes and fears, my ups and downs, committed to wax. Any part of it that I originally wrote with others in mind – be they artists, DJs or even clubgoers – got scrapped along the way, and I think that kept the record honest. That’s probably the only reason I still like it, because it feels honest.” Dive Left is Boxwork unburdened, and free to follow his instincts.

Intricate percussive rhythms weave through the narrative of the album, telling the story of a London artist who’s spent time living in Russia, Africa and the Middle East and absorbed musical influences along the way. The more familiar hip hop, rock, pop and jazz themes are from a spell closer to home, New York City. “I like to offset the heavier rhythmic beds with more emotive melodies; it’s not all grumpy, just a sensitive soul out here thinking about shit.”

Support for Boxwork’s music has come from some of the UK’s finest tastemakers, including Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Monki, Alexander Nut, Seb Chew, and Dusk & Blackdown. It’s a list that speaks to the quality and variety evident in the music; Dive Left is a fitting conclusion to a chapter of self-discovery for this fascinating musical mind.