Momoko

London-based composer, vocalist, drummer, and multi-instrumentalist Momoko Gill has contributed to many projects on Londons jazz and adjacent scenes. Shes worked with Alabaster DePlume, Arooj Aftab, Coby Sey, and others. In 2024 she collaborated with electronicist, drummer/producer Matthew Herbert on the widely acclaimed Clay. Momoko, released by Strut, is Gills self-produced debut album; it was engineered by Herbert. Containing 11 tracks, she surrounds herself with some of the best musicians on the scene including Tamar Osborn, Shabaka Hutchings, Mei Kirby, Marysia Osu, Twm Dylan, Wonky Logic (Dwayne Kilvington), DePlume, Soweto Kinch, and others. This is a jazz-adjacent album. She is a singular singer-songwriter and rejects imitation. "Satellite" is a brief, somewhat abstract intro, weaving together electronics, guitars, droning organ, and her voice in a nocturnal interlude. "No Others" is a love song with complex lyrics, simultaneously inviting and accusatory. Its skittering, syncopated drums, circular bassline, and post-bop piano elevate her gorgeous vocals. "Heavy" embraces neo-soul, pop, and jazz. This poignant, gentle song is about friends and how they elevate us when were depressed and laden with burdens. The flute solo adds lithe suppleness to the lyrics emotional resonance. "Rewind/Remind" and "Shadowboxing" are stitched with electronics. The former is funky with a rhythmic flute, burrowing bassline, and canny snare breaks (Gill is self-taught) framing her dreamy vocal and a chorus. "Shadowboxing" is darker, more physical with deep tom-toms and kick drums; its layered harmonies above a bassy synth drone draws on blues, old-school gospel, and spindly funk. "2close2farr" is a piano-driven love song rooted in emotional and psychological depth. Layered backing vocals support her tender vocal, "Well I know that youre feeling/That you never get the best of me/That you deserve/Guess I′ve been findin my feet/In mind, body, spirit…Yeah, there′s nothin′ that I wouldnt do for you." "Test a Small Area" is saturated in syncopated rhythms, outre modal jazz, and skittery electronics with trombone, trumpet, and tenor sax solos humming above industrial sounds and doomy turntablism. A sample of the Israeli army blowing up a Palestinian village adds to its edge. Its answered three tracks later by the sets most impactful cut, the single "When Palestine Is Free." Surrounded by a full jazz ensemble and 50-voice choir, Gills vocal revels in soul yet never overstates her powerful lyrics, "Have we come to see/Were only free when Palestine is free..." The verse is repeated three times with a different instrumental emphasis on each pass. There are excellent baritone sax and trumpet solos and glorious arching piano, as Gills adventurous funky drums add a foundation for her band and choir. The closer "Ineffably" is a piano ballad, fragile and determined, informed by natures healing grace, the beauty of everyday life, and detachment. Meticulously produced, Gill juxtaposes analog soul, jazz, and funk with a singer-songwriters sensitivity. Momoko is as thrilling a debut as were likely to hear in 2026. ~ Thom Jurek