Jack Steadman. You may know him as the frontman of Bombay Bicycle Club, the bald guy with big glasses, or if you’re lucky, Mr Jukes. If you don’t know him as the latter, it’s time you get educated.
After the (friendly) breakup of Bombay Bicycle Club, Steadman quite literally set sail on a new journey. He boarded a cargo ship from Shanghai to Canada, on which he set up a makeshift studio and started experimenting independently.
In this new project, he sought to explore genres he was passionate about and record his imagination as it truly was. He felt freed from the constraints of the four-piece guitar band he had formerly belonged to and delved into new grounds, claiming that this music was born of a sort of spiritual journey.
With this spirituality in mind, Steadman named his album, God First. While glimmers of his indie folk past shine through on occasion, the album is largely jazz-funk-focused. Taking not only inspiration but samples and collaboration opportunities from varying genres, Steadman created a body of work that seamlessly fuses the best of the best into something that is simply, in my humble opinion; the best.
Mr Jukes is a new level of exciting, refreshing, cool. Like, if I were almost out of storage on my phone and was frantically downloading what little I could before a flight, I’d download God First first.
If I were laying in a hammock at the park with my best friend and couldn’t decide what to play, I’d play God First.
If I had a new friend in the car and wanted to play something fresh and interesting and good but not overwhelming, I’d play God First.
If I were sitting on the couch playing Mario Kart on a Saturday night, I’d play God First.
If all my roommates were gone and it was just me and my humble (one fourth of an) abode, I’d play God First.
The list goes on.
