Singapore nu-jazz outfit The Steve McQueens have released a new EP to tide fans over the wait for their next studio album.
Titled ‘Tape Ends’, the new release consists of previously unreleased material from the band’s 2018 ‘TAPE’ tour. The brief trek took the band to Japan, where they performed at the Tokyo Jazz Festival.
The six tracks on ‘Tape Ends’ offer a heady mix of jazz fusion, neo-soul and pop. The EP, which the band previewed with opening track ‘Firefly’ in June, was released on digital platforms last Friday (August 7) by Umami Records.
Explaining the meaning behind the EP’s midpoint ‘Never Not’, inspired by the Hindu Goddess Akhilandeshwari, vocalist Eugenia Yip said in a press statement, “The song explores the idea that the Goddess exists everywhere and lives in the parts of us that feel broken. It’s within these cracks that bridges form, connecting who we are to who we are becoming.”
Stream ‘Tape Ends’ below:
‘Tape Ends’ is The Steve McQueens’ latest release since 2018’s Bandcamp-exclusive EP, ‘Einstein Moments’, and their full-length album ‘TERRAЯIUM’ in 2017. ‘Tape Ends’ was prepared as a treat for fans before the band heads into the studio for their next album, titled ‘The Observer’, due out in 2021.
Per Umami Records’ press release, the new Steve McQueens album will poke “at the culture clash between jazz traditionalists and the new vanguard.” The band explains further: “The Observer is an indifferent spectator who stands apart. He smiles quietly to himself and continues making his own music.”