Leon Bridges has teamed up with dozens of artists, from Mexican star Carín León and English R&B singer Olivia Dean to the Aussie electronic band the Avalanches. But his latest collaboration may be his boldest yet.
On Happiness Anytime, Bridges joins forces with two-thirds of the London band Jungle to dive headfirst into Afro-pop grooves. Think Fela Kuti, with a splash of Latin soul.
The Fort Worth singer announced a Sept. 25 drop date for the album — his fifth full-length release since 2015’s Coming Home — and he previewed it July 17 with a 4-song EP. “Tears of Joy” has echoes of South Africa’s township jive style heard on Paul Simon’s Graceland. “Illusion” and the sax-fired “Light the Way” bear the unmistakable influence of Fela, the late Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer. The latter features video of a grinning Bridges in a straw hat, pedaling a vintage Huffy bike through an undisclosed tropical locale.
“Leon said he wants to have music that he can dance to,” Jungle’s Lydia Kitto said in a statement. “He wants to have moments where he can put the guitar down and just dance and perform at the front.” Kitto produced the album with her Jungle-mate Josh Lloyd-Watson. First-call studio bassist Pino Palladino (The Who, D’Angelo) laid down the groove for the album.
Bridges debuted the new songs in a recent series of European concerts, including a set at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He has no shows on the books, but expect to see an itinerary closer to the release date.