Speakers Corner Quartet: Further Out Than the Edge review – flawless hymn to fusion

In the mid-00s, Brixton Jamm in south London was home to a well-known open mic night Speakers Corner, which featured a house band going toe-to-toe with local MCs to develop a raucous hip-hop fusion. Seventeen years on from their first performances, that house band are now releasing their debut album, a tribute to the diverse network of collaborators they have gathered in the city.

Guest Coby Sey opens the 13-track set with his languorous baritone, lending swagger to a downcast guitar riff reminiscent of early the xx, while newcomer Léa Sen provides gorgeously ethereal vocals to the midtempo introspection of Dreaded!. Poets Kae Tempest and James Massiah, meanwhile, command their respective tracks, with the former lending meandering phrasing to the sweeping strings of Geronimo Blues, while Massiah’s staccato delivery punctuates the crackling atmosphere of Hither Green. Instrumentally, Further Out… is remarkably cohesive, thanks to the Quartet’s dark, downbeat textures that support everyone from Sampha to composer Mica Levi. The group maintain control throughout, making this a flawless and packed debut – one that has been worth the wait.