The most recent Scottish Album Of The Year Award ceremony took place in Dundee’s Caird Hall on 6 November, 2025. A quick glance at Google Trends data for that same evening reveals a dramatic spike in searches for the term ‘Kai Reesu’. This is, of course, down to the band of that same name clinching the main prize that night, a victory that came as something of a surprise to those who haven’t been paying attention to the burgeoning nu-jazz scene currently blossoming in the west of Scotland.

A six-strong group hailing from Paisley, Lochwinnoch, Thurso, Northumbria and Los Angeles, Kai Reesu pipped established names such as Hamish Hawk and Kathryn Joseph to the crown, thanks to their full-length debut Kompromat Vol I; it’s a fact they’re still trying to comprehend months later. ‘Brooke Combe was on Jimmy Kimmel last night dawg!’ laughs Jurnalist, Kai Reesu’s enigmatic frontman. ‘Jacob Alon was on Graham Norton like two, three days ago. How am I in the same conversation as these people?’ continues the LA-born MC (real name Mitchell Frost) who now resides in Glasgow and can be heard rapping across some jazzy instrumentals on album one. ‘I like to think that people see the band and go: “Oh it’s a bunch of scruffy thirtysomething guys still going at it,”’ says keyboardist and producer extraordinaire Paul Copeland, when asked why he believes Kompromat Vol I appealed to the judging panel at the SAY Awards. ‘We just love making records and I think there must be something transparent about that. I’m obsessed with it.’

Originally a jazz quintet consisting of Copeland, saxophonists Harry Weir and Michael Butcher, bassist and guitarist Robert McArthur, and drummer Matt Sim, the band were introduced to Frost at Glitch 41, a jazz night in the Rum Shack in Glasgow’s Southside, during which Liam Shortall of corto.alto invited Frost to rap on stage. Weeks later, when a rapper scheduled to perform with Kai Reesu dropped out of a performance at Edinburgh’s St James Quarter, the band turned to Frost for cover and never looked back. ‘I think it’s all slotted in so well in terms of the lyricism,’ says Copeland of the frontman whom he affectionately refers to as Jurn. ‘His imagery is just opulent and cool; the flow is really good. We’re influenced by LA beat music and Jurn just gets it.’

Copeland’s admiration for his bandmate is clear and a large part of Kai Reesu’s charm is the admiration Frost has for his new home. Having been instantly charmed when he first visited Scotland in 2018 to record music with a friend he met online, Frost is currently trying to secure permanent resident status in the country. He refers to himself as the ‘Governor Of Govan’ in his Instagram bio. ‘I love my constituents!’ he laughs. While he hasn’t lost his native accent, Frost has picked up a great deal of Scots dialect, something he believes has helped him develop his rapping ability. ‘The patter?’ Frost exhales. ‘It’s so good! The way that I can bend a phrase and definition by choosing different words that are utilised here means I can convey a different message.’ During our interview, Frost illustrates this point, explaining to Copeland how his grandma used to live in ‘a belter of a house’ in Las Vegas, before praising the ‘quality scran’ on offer at Clark’s, the 24-hour bakery in Dundee.

A neatly produced jazz/hip-hop fusion album, Kompromat Vol I tells the tale of Jurnalist having arrived in Scotland before assimilating himself here. When listening back to the ten-track project, it’s easy to understand why it won the coveted award, though what’s most impressive is how little time it took for the band to produce the record. ‘We hadn’t even been playing for a year and we were getting nominated for stuff. We put the album together in, like, three months,’ reflects Copeland. ‘It’s not a flex to say it came together that quickly, because everyone in the band has a lot of musical ideas, so we’re actually trying to get through a backlog of stuff.’

While the final tracks were largely laid down in recording studios, namely Starla Recordings in Lochwinnoch and Glasgow’s Solas Sound, a great deal of Kai Reesu’s award-winning debut came together just metres away from where our interview takes place: in Copeland’s house. In a rented flat on an inconspicuous street in central Paisley, the pianist has dedicated the last five years to transforming his living room into a cosy home studio in which no space is wasted. 

From analogue tape machines to keyboards and synths, the reformed sitting room is a treasure trove of second-hand audio equipment. ‘It’s usually a bit of a mess,’ admits Copeland. ‘But that actually makes people feel comfortable.’ Frost interjects: ‘It lowers the stakes!’ Copeland proceeds to play one of the band’s unreleased instrumentals over his speakers, a lavish, textured jazz beat which serves as a reminder of just how solid the band are, instantly transporting all three of us away from a rainy midweek night in Paisley. It’s hard to imagine six people squeezing into this intimate studio space and the noise that must reverberate around the stairwell, though Copeland appears unfazed: ‘I think if we made bad music the neighbours would tell us to shut up much faster.’

Copeland and Frost both discuss music at a restless pace, be it recommending up-and-coming Scottish artists (Frost advises all readers to check out Edinburgh-based R&B singer Tayoh) or musing about their musical inspirations (Copeland says the late D’Angelo had a big bearing on their forthcoming work). It’s clear that the band approach their production with the same passionate vim, as Frost reveals that the group are already working on a third album, despite having not yet finished their sophomore project. ‘Artists can be quite neurotic sometimes... we spend a lot of time trying to polish to the greatest level and sometimes we’re overcooking it. Just let it go,’ says Frost of the band’s relentless production style. ‘I think that’s how we’ve cultivated and kept a really sharp edge because, boy, this next one dawg? It’s crazy. The line-up of records we have is ridiculous,’ he teases, a grin emerging across the rapper’s face.

Though exact details of its release are still to be finalised, Copeland confirms that their next LP will be the second volume in the Kompromat series, with plans for a digital and physical release around May. ‘We’re trying not to just do hip hop on this one,’ reveals Copeland when asked about what listeners can expect from album two. ‘We’ve got a tune where Jurn is rapping in 6/8 time; some weird beats as well. There’s some more obscure stuff on this one.’

Frost concurs: ‘Yeah, we gotta push the envelope a little bit. So reminding people that not only do we make hip hop, we are a jazz outfit and we are here for the music. It’s not just because I’m rapping on it, but we’re here to see these people play and to listen to them. The stuff they’re doing is just ridiculous.’ Asked whether their plans beyond 2026 look more like world domination or steady growth, Frost is quick to choose the latter. ‘If we hit Bad Bunny status, beautiful, let the cheques roll in. But can I maintain making great music at that scale and not be sacrificing? That’s the thing that I’m more focused on.’ 

Kai Reesu perform at Aberdeen Jazz Festival, Saturday 21 March; SAMA Paisley Takeover Festival, Saturday 25 April; and Kelburn Jazz Weekend, Saturday 2 May; Kompromat Vol II is due for release in May.

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