Ghouls / Play Dead / Après Minuit

First Word Records are proud to bring you the second single taken from 'Ghouls'; the forthcoming 6th album by Bastien Keb.

A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.

His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.

He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).

'Ghouls' is the title track of this new project - an appropriately haunting selection of sounds for the Halloween season.

Synth-heavy alternative new-wave / post-punk vibes on this one, with a real retro feel.

This is accompanied by two more album tracks; 'Play Dead' features Malik Ameer Crumpler on vocals and Keb's cousin Mark Millington on sax. This one is another slice of jazzy-spoken word, painting a full picture for the imagination.

Completing this triple threat is 'Après Minuit' - a downtempo instrumental jazz-funk cut, complete with epic harmonics, spine-tingling vocals and featuring Mark Millington blowing the sax once again.

Mark released his solo debut album on the Albert's Favourites label earlier this year, but has been active in the music industry for over three decades, whilst Malik Ameer Crumpler is a poet, composer, editor and professor originally hailing from California, now based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media. Both artists feature heavily throughout the full-length album, adding their own unique layers to the overall piece.

These three tracks give you a full flavour of the diversity and mood of the forthcoming LP - a soundtrack to an imaginary movie of the mind.

Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, 'Ghouls' spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.

Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.

He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection and La Haine. There there are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.

Keb describes the sonic experience of this forthcoming album simply as this… "You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm…"

'Ghouls' will be released digitally worldwide on Weds Oct 29th, with the album of the same name dropping on vinyl & digital, November 14th 2025. There will also be an accompanying book of words & artwork put together by Bastien & Malik released around the same time.