When listening to the varied and complex sounds of Edy Forey’s album Culture Today, it may be surprising to discover that it’s a debut collection from a relatively new band. This Scotland-based jazz duo made up of visual artist, vocalist and bedroom producer Edy Szewy and keyboardist Guilhem Forey met in Edinburgh but hail from Poland and France, respectively. Since they released their first single in 2022, the pair have finessed their sound, creating in Culture Today a body of work that feels cohesive and musically rich.

First playing together when Szewy’s six-piece neo-soul band needed a fill-in keys player, they bonded over a shared worldview, growing up as ‘nonconformists’ and ‘outsiders’. The record explores some of these feelings of angst, pulling from their distinct but complementary vaults of musical references. Culture Today’s opening track is a lamenting yet soothing instrumental combining classical motifs with electric piano and psychedelic reverb, and from there we’re served a healthy dose of groovy basslines, politically-charged spoken word, frantic freestyles, and even a gorgeous samba track (‘Agape’) that practically transports you to the beaches of Rio.

Featuring artists such as Mercury Prize-winning drummer Femi Koleoso (Ezra Collective, Gorillaz) and Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League, this debut album stretches itself to the full. The pair’s musical influences (from Erykah Badu and D’Angelo, to Bach, Esperanza Spalding and Herbie Hancock) imprint themselves strongly on the record. This is a perfectly fused jazz album with a patchwork of sonic worlds, harmoniously held together by the strength of Edy Forey’s joint musicianship.
Edy Forey: Culture Today is released by So Soul Records on Friday 5 April.