Shy FX - Raggamuffin SoundTape

The Guardian 60

(Cult.ure/Warner Bros)
From club bangers to ragga to troubled soul, not to mention Cara Delevingne, this is a picture of an artist of many moods – and friends

Twenty-five years after Andre Williams, AKA Shy FX, released the widely sampled pioneering jungle track Original Nuttah, he feels that the long-awaited Raggamuffin SoundTape represents him as an artist. It certainly paints a picture of a man of many moods and friends, careering from guests known and unknown through a range of styles, from jungle to ragga to dancehall to R&B to soul. Opener Call Me features Maverick Sabre singing on a track that brings beautifully troubled soul in the vein of Marvin Gaye to drum’n’bass. The horns-blasting Carnival Culture lives up to its title, while the dancehall-flavoured Raggamuffin has a slightly darker feel (“show disrespect then you die”).