New Release from Mr Jukes 'Grant Green' ft. Charles Bradley, On Island Records

Mr Jukes premieres new single, ‘Grant Green’ (ft. Charles Bradley)
Radio 1’s Hottest Record in the World
Details of debut album, God First, announced (to be released July 14th on Island Records)

"An old-school feel while creating an entirely new experience" Pitchfork
"Soulful, brassy...joyous" - Fader
"A free-flowing odyssey" DIY
"A bracing turn" Sunday Times Culture, Hottest Tracks
"A jazzy, snazzy funk badman" NME, Tracks of the Week

Mr Jukes has premiered new single ‘Grant Green’ (ft. Charles Bradley) as Radio 1’s Hottest Record in The World and it’s available now. The new solo project from Jack Steadman, this is the second single to be lifted from the debut Mr Jukes album, God First, which is due on Island Records on July 14th. 

Recently introduced with track ‘Angels/Your Love’ (ft. BJ The Chicago Kid), and quickly winning support across Radio 1, 6Music, 1Xtra and more, Mr Jukes has just confirmed details of his first ever live show today, with an intimate date at London’s Village Underground taking place on July 11th.

‘Grant Green’ is a further insight into the melting pot of sounds and ideas that is Mr Jukes, fusing funk, soul, and elements of hip-hop into effortless modern pop (via a blistering turn from Charles Bradley, and a carefully-curated sample from jazz great Grant Green). The track was conceived in Japan, with Steadman finding the original recording in a Tokyo kissaten (“they’re like a coffee shop or bar where the owner plays you his record collection and you sit there all afternoon, just listening. I was there with my notebook, secretly writing everything down”). Reaching out to long-time hero Charles Bradley having immediately written the song thereafter, the session back in the States was similarly memorable. “It was all over in about an hour. Charles kinda exited the room with the chair spinning and I was left wondering what just happened! He’s a bundle of energy: he went at it full throttle and then I never saw him again. It was great!”

Whilst few would predict that the front-man of Bombay Bicycle Club would one day have a living soul legend on his record, ‘Grant Green’ - and the finely-tuned collaborations across God First as a whole - confirm Mr Jukes as a project in which to expect the unexpected. Once a music obsessed teenager, Jack Steadman initially saw himself more as a jazz bassist than the frontman of a world famous, guitar-centred indie band, but – as everyone now knows – his 10 years with Bombay (encompassing chart-topping albums, several planetwide tours and some notable awards) somewhat got in the way. Having taken a couple of years to contemplate his next step, he returns under the name of Mr Jukes with a project that both revives his long-standing interest in jazz, soul and funk and sees Steadman take on the roles of artist, composer, producer and sample-hound.

The result, God First, is an album that surprises and delights in equal measure: quite unlike anything Jack has done before, and also now confirmed to feature the likes of De La Soul, Lianne La Havas, Horace Andy and Lalah Hathaway. “I loved the challenge of writing songs for Bombay Bicycle Club," says Jack, "but as a naturally restless person, after the last album my mind wandered to ideas I couldn’t imagine doing within the band. On Mr Jukes I have the freedom to go right to the end of any idea I might have.” ‘Grant Green’ is the next step in Mr Jukes' musical odyssey, and we’re all the better for him inviting us along for the ride.   

God First – Track-listing
1.    Typhoon
2.    Angels / Your Love (ft. BJ The Chicago Kid)
3.    Ruby
4.    Somebody New (ft. Elli Ingram)
5.    Grant Green (ft. Charles Bradley)
6.    Leap of Faith (ft. De La Soul & Horace Andy)
7.    From Golden Stars Comes Silver Dew (ft. Lalah Hathaway)
8.    Magic
9.    Tears (ft. Alexandria)
10.   When Your Lights Go Out (ft. Lianne La Havas)
Pre-order ‘God First’ and download ‘Grant Green’, ‘Angels/Your Love’ and ‘Tears’ immediately via: https://mrjukes.lnk.to/GodFirst