Joshua Idehen paints with sound and others with words. In his new single, "Mum Does The Washing," the British-Nigerian poet and mursician reimagines an act as banal as doing laundry as a profoundly human meditation on love, perseverance, and the wisdom we receive from ou parents.
Best known for his collaborations with The Comet Is Coming and Sons of Kemet, Idehen has made a place for himself at the intersection of spoken word poetry and avant-garde club sounds. But here, he zeroes in on the personal. His voice floats above airy, off-kilter rhythms and ambient textures, oscillating between playful observation and profound reflection. "Mum Does The Washing" is also intimate, though its themes of care and survival are universal, an everyday moment expanded and developed into something cinematically beautiful.
Already tuning the ears of tastemakers like Jamz Supernova and Huw Stephens, "Mum Does The Washing" shines for its warmth and tongue-in-cheek wit. Idehen's delivery is easy, as if a friend recounted a story of recent events over tea, but dense with poetic heft. The production, which includes work from her longtime collaborator Ludvig Parment, is just as sensitive, merging indie-dance sensibilities with a dreamlike quality.
"Mum Does The Washing" is only a preview of Idehen's more enormous desires. His debut EP, also called Mum Does The Washing, explores love, loss, and survival through a pairing of electronic grooves and vivid storytelling. If "Mum Does The Washing" is any indication, we're in for something special: a project that makes the body move as much as the soul shake.