RHYTHM OF THE CITY

Harnessing a colourful fusion of jazz, soul and afrobeat influences, Kokoroko's second album centres on bringing their beloved London to life

- Fred Garratt-Stanley

CAMPED IN A countryside studio complex amid the plush green hills and moors of south Devon, Kokoroko had no choice but to lock in.

With limited phone signal, no shops within walking distance, and city distractions a distant memory, the recording location for their second album, Tuff Times Never Last, was primed for the kind of smooth, harmonious music the London collective has become renowned for.

“There’s so much peace there,” says percussionist and band co-founder Onome Edgeworth, reflecting on that time away. “It’s easier to work with other people in that environment. If you’re in London and you’re struggling to come in every day, or you feel stressed, it’s so easy for the energy to go wrong. [In Devon] it was like a sleepover vibe; you get that playfulness and lightness.”

Still, back in London, the easy, carefree dynamic between the band members remains. Joining Edgeworth to speak to Rolling Stone UK is trumpeter, vocalist and fellow co-founder Sheila Maurice-Grey, and drummer Ayo Salawu. Sat in their low-ceilinged east London studio, surrounded by an assortment of keyboards, percussive instruments and soft furnishings, the trio regularly burst into laughter, recalling memories of chaotic shows or moments in the recording process when they irritated each other. “Yohan, our keys player, drove us crazy recording ‘My Father’,” says Edgeworth with a laugh. “We were trying to sleep, and he was with [producer] Miles [James] going over three minutes of it on loop for four, five hours... I never wanted to hear that song again!”