Love+War

1. Love + War
2. Fight For Love
3. Walk
4. My Own
5. Look Over Your Shoulder
6. Perfect Ruin
7. Forgiven
8. Layback
9. Make You Mine
10. Father Figure
11. Wrong Or Right 
12. Cheating On Me

"I always had it in my mind that when I wrote my album, I'd write music I could sing from a mountaintop," explains Kwabs. The open-hearted grandeur of his sound is typified by this approach - amply showcased on his debut full-length Love + War. Full of soaring confessional soul that feels like freedom, it's a lovingly crafted album that not only meets but exceeds the South London singer's aims.

Bermondsey-born Kwabena Adjepong has been known as one to watch for some time. At the start of this year, he appeared on the BBC Sound of 2015 longlist - though this industry accolade was in many respects playing catch-up to the word-of-mouth fan base that had been growing ever since his Youtube cover of James Blake's 'The Wilhelm Scream', still a live favourite, went viral in 2012. Three EPs followed in 2014, each showcasing a different facet of Kwabs' future soul: the delicacy and light touch of 'Wrong Or Right', the yearning sweep of 'Pray For Love' and the irresistible hooks of 'Walk'.

It was the latter, which Kwabs has described as "my statement of intent - the first time I'm saying, here I am" - that
catapulted him into the big time last autumn. 'Walk' was a top 5 sensation across multiple European markets, certified platinum in Norway and gold in Germany - where it hit No 1 and sold 300,000 copies - Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. It's accrued 25 million Spotify streams since December, and in April Kwabs embarked on a sold-out headline tour across Europe. It's exactly the kind of success this full-bodied anthem of self-reflection was built for, though Kwabs is still getting used to his sudden star status: "It's been a crazy, amazing time," he laughs.
If he felt any additional pressure finishing off Love + War, it doesn't show: it's an album that follows through on Kwabs' early promise effortlessly. There are the kind of huge smashes-in-waiting that prove 'Walk' was no one-off: 'My Own', with its catchy xylophone riffs, and the New Jack Swing of 'Make You Mine' are bursts of hope and optimism, the kind of songs that put a spring in your step. There are intricate production touches throughout, proving that pop instincts and forward-thinking innovation can coexist: the tactile rhythms and dreamy birdsong-like qualities of 'Layback', for example, produced by longtime collaborator and mentor Dave Okumu. The title track, meanwhile, builds from pattering synth pads to echoing, percussive dancefloor drama all the way up to a glorious gospel choir explosion. And the next single, 'Fight For Love', is a twisting, propulsive slice of '80s-tinged disco that sounds like the lost soundtrack to one of that decade's great romances.

Gorgeous vocal production is something of a theme in this album: the outro of 'Walk' alone contained 36 layers of backing vocals. "I spend a lot of time recording vocals for the music to have as much of my identity in it - sometimes I'll take 14-15 hours in the studio just to get the sound right, and I love it," explains Kwabs. His rich baritone is perfectly set off by some of the album's slower burners: the epic closer 'Cheating On Me', on which he aches and pleads in a classic blues style; or the unusual follow-up single to 'Walk', the brooding, abstract 'Perfect Ruin'. It's a masterful example of how to build tension in a song, all space and glacial piano surrounding Kwabs, with the beat's entrance delayed until its final minute - and about as stark a contrast to 'Walk's immediacy as you could hear. Kwabs was well aware of the risks, of course: "I knew Perfect Ruin wouldn't necessarily sell millions of copies, but it would stand as an important representation of my career forever," he explains. "I wrote a bunch of different permutations of it, knowing the song probably best represents who I am as a human being; I felt people needed to see that sooner rather than later."

Kwabs' story is the thread that runs through Love + War, tying the album together: his voice is a uniquely powerful one in British music both in terms of his showstopping vocal talent and what he says with it. His
journey - from growing up in social care to discovering his Ghanaian family roots to winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music - has been well documented, but it's worth reiterating how distinctive it is. In an era when the pop landscape has been criticised for its homogeneity, it's valuable to have room for those who haven't had it so easy. "My story's quite mixed up," he acknowledges. "And my influences are quite mixed up because of my background. Whenever I try to explain that to people, they find me hard to categorise because they find it unfamiliar. I question it sometimes - should I be something more familiar to people? But I like it, I like being the product of several different weird parts."

It's a narrative that can make for some searingly, uncomfortably honest moments: 'Father Figure', for example, on which Kwabs asks an unnamed figure to fill that void in his life; "It's hard to move on from a love I never had," as he sings. It's left ambiguous as to whether the song's object is a guardian, mentor or lover, and Kwabs says that it's not sung to any particular person but rather "several people who represent a parental figure that I was missing early on in my life." He originally felt that the song might be "a bit too much" to put out there - but when he played it to friend, she started crying. "When you have that sort of reaction, you can't ignore it," shrugs Kwabs. Brilliantly, the song's sound is one of the sunniest and most carefree on Love + War: "I've always liked songs you can both dance and cry to!" says Kwabs.

If Kwabs' approach could loosely be termed confessional soul, though, it's the ominously clanking rootsy blues of 'Forgiven' that give a twist to the received wisdom about confessional songwriting. It's not a plea for absolution but an unapologetic statement of pride: "I won't let myself be forgiven, I don't need to justify," he sings defiantly. It was one of the easiest songs to write, according to Kwabs: "The dark edge in my soul had to be expressed."
Kwabs' take on confessionalism is also unique in his ability to universalise it - apparent not just in his willingness to belt his inner emotions from the rooftops instead of mumbling them to himself in his bedroom, but in his desire to connect it to listeners' own stories. "I want to be able to connect to the songs on my own terms - but it's much bigger and more important for people to hear their story in the songs as well as mine," he explains. It's an outward-facing, bold approach to a traditionally solipsistic genre - and it's no wonder Kwabs has struck such a chord with people. Naturally, the live arena is where Kwabs excels. With another packed summer of festival appearances ahead of him (including Primavera (ESP), Roskilde (DEN), Montreux Jazz Festival (SUI), Melt (GER) and Latitude (GBR), as well as what's sure to be a special homecoming to London's Somerset House on July 17), he's excited about the new things he's learned to bring to the stage: "Every gig we do we're getting better and better," he says. "We try to take it up a notch every chance we get". It's clear now that Kwabs is no longer just one to watch - he's a fully-fledged, soaring talent ready to sing his one-of-a-kind story.