Youthsayers - Don't Blame the Youth (2024) [Hi-Res]

Wah Wah 45s are very proud and excited to announce the debut album from Youthsayers - an ongoing and enduring South London community project, founded by Robin Hopcraft and Idris Rahman of our very own, legendary Afro-reggae outfit Soothsayers.

Youthsayers was established in 2016 and ever since has consistently provided free of charge opportunities for young people to come together, learn an instrument and perform music under the tutelage of Robin and Idris. This has been made possible, in part, through donations from local businesses and private benefactors, but also live fundraisers and now through commercially released music!

Don’t Blame The Youth is a snapshot of the current Youthsayers band, and recent alumni, who’ve gone on to form other bands in the world of jazz, reggae and beyond, including recent signings to Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood imprint, Oreglo.

Over the course of eight tracks the band deliver their own unique takes on classic and contemporary pieces of music from the world of dub and Afro-jazz, including covers of Theon Cross, Fela Kuti, Cedric IM Brooks, The Fontanelles and of course, Soothsayers themselves.

The album also showcases the Youthsayers students’ own writing abilities, not only on their original composition, Citizens Not Subjects, written alongside Levitation Orchestra’s director and trumpeter Axel Kaner-Lindstrom, but also via a re-working of the Tommy McCook instrumental Tenor On The Call with lyrics re-written by Youthsayers’ clarinet player Giacomo Del Rei and re-named We Keep Playing, the debut single to be taken from the album.