Velvet

ESP expands to Mexico with the debut album from a Monterrey artist singing in his mother tongue for the first time.

Instrumental cues to Arthur Verocai and Buena Vista Social Club, vocal tonality akin to Oscar Key Sung and Rhye, an RnB time signature nodding to Dilla disciples like D'Angelo, and a psychedelic sheen of Connan Mockasin and Les Sins.

Extra Soul Perception is a collaboration and community music platform which started life in 2019 when eight artists from Kenya, Uganda and the UK spent a week in Nairobi exploring new tangents in soul music.

Since then, the label has released collaborative and solo work across three continents with Azu Tiwaline, Ethiopian Records, Faizal Mostrixx, Hibotep, K15, Karun, Itsmdnyt, Labdi, Lex Amor, Lynda Dawn, Mara TK, Maxwell Owen, Paddy Fred, SOLA and Xenia Manasseh and XL Middleton. ESP. begins 2023 expanding the family into Mexico with their first Spanish-speaking release and another debut album.

Tuzeint is a 30 year old singer, musician and producer from Monterrey who mixes psychedelic soul, alt-RnB and jazz with the traditional sounds of Central America. With his debut album Raixes (Roots) he presents his first release sung entirely in his mother tongue - an ode to his heritage, home and authentic voice. Reinforcing the Monterrey connection, ESP. are co-releasing Raixes with local label Worldwide Records, run by legendary Mexican artist, DJ and A&R Toy Selectah.

As an artist he was the driving force behind 90s Mexican hip-hop icons Control Machete and as a solo producer he's taken the raverton style to the world with remixes for M.I.A., Mad Decent, Run The Jewels and Vampire Weekend. As a label-head he prides himself on discovering some of the most exciting new talent from his home country, which holds Tuzient in good stead.

"A unique sound, it has been a long time since something gave me goosebumps like the sound of Tuzeint. An organic sound that proposes modern Futuristic Latin Americanism that evokes classic sound sensations from bygone eras in high definition" Toy Selectah

On Raixes, native Mexican instruments like the jarocho and leona colour the album's melting pot sonic palette, which lifts influences throughout the Spanish speaking world - from Buena Vista Social Club to Arthur Verocai, rapper C Tangana to flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo. Across Raixes's nine tracks, Tuzient contends with his identity as an artist, son and partner, exploring female divinity, mortality, imagined paternal conversations, confronting emotions and surrendering to a higher power. This is the sound of an artist comfortable with his own vulnerabilities, proud of where he's come from and ambitious to help define the contemporary sound of his home.