Vinyl Record

Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music

Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music on 2LP vinyl. A 2020 record available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel, Ireland.

2LP · 2020

Available from Kilmorna Collection in Listowel.

Buyer notes: 2020 2LP, currently available from the Kilmorna Collection vinyl shelf. Pay for pickup in Listowel or ship within Ireland for EUR 5.50.

What Kinda Music is the 2020 collaboration where Tom Misch's smooth guitar-led songwriting meets Yussef Dayes' restless South London jazz drumming and both artists become less predictable. Misch had already made a polished lane for himself with soul, R&B and guitar-pop elegance; Dayes carried the aftershock of the Yussef Kamaal/Black Focus moment and a more exploratory rhythmic language. Together they make an album that refuses one clean label. The title track drifts in on reverb and suspended mood, Festival turns groove into pressure, Nightrider brings Freddie Gibbs into the nocturnal palette, Tidal Wave lets Dayes' drums disrupt Misch's soft vocal layering, and Kyiv gives the instrumental conversation real space. The record feels humid, low-lit and alive to touch: bass, drums, guitar and voice moving through jazz, neo-soul, hip-hop and electronic atmosphere without becoming a fusion exercise. Its best quality is mutual disturbance: each artist makes the other less tidy.

It matters because the album connected two major strands of contemporary London music: Misch's melodic, guitar-forward soul-pop and Dayes' jazz-rooted rhythmic imagination. The collaboration broadened both artists' audiences while preserving a sense of live interplay and studio atmosphere.

For collectors, What Kinda Music is a key modern UK jazz-adjacent title, especially for shelves that connect Blue Note's contemporary releases with neo-soul and beat-driven music. It is also a strong entry point into Yussef Dayes beyond Black Focus and Misch beyond Geography.

Warm, hazy jazz-soul with liquid guitar, agile drums, deep bass, reverb-heavy production, hip-hop undertow, soft vocals, instrumental looseness and late-night electronic atmosphere.

Recommended for: Collectors of contemporary UK jazz, neo-soul and Blue Note-adjacent releases; Fans of Tom Misch's guitar tone and Yussef Dayes' drumming; Listeners who want groove-based music that feels both polished and exploratory.

When was What Kinda Music released? It was released in 2020 as a collaborative album by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes. What styles does the album combine? It blends jazz, neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop rhythm, electronic texture and Misch's guitar-led songwriting. Which tracks show the collaboration best? What Kinda Music, Tidal Wave, Nightrider, Festival and Kyiv are strong examples of Misch and Dayes pushing each other into new territory.