We're going to make a bold move and declare that no musician on the market right now has more hype surrounding such a small body of work than Jai Paul. Even Azealia Banks, who surprisingly launched her long delayed first album last week, at least gave fans mixtapes and the occasional single to work with. Paul, the UK soul vocalist, last gave us a taste of his handiwork during 2012 with the single "Jasmine," which was reportedly a demo. Before that we only have one more confirmed single to comprise his discography: The much ballyhooed and beyond excellent "BTSTU." Now the rumor mills have opened wide as fellow experimental soul vocalist Miguel posted a photo on Instagram alongside Paul and his brother AK Paul (from Pitchfork).
What does the photo tell us? Not much. It's tough to guarantee that the pair is in a studio, although a series of synthesizers are sitting on shelves behind them. We last heard of Jai Paul stirring when producer Rodaidh McDonald spoke to Dazed & Confused over the summer.
"I did something with him last week, some vocal production on a new song. We finished it, whether he wants to put it out or not I don't know," he said. "It's just a very long process for him I guess...One of the things that I sort of identified was that he might benefit from some help using vocals. But his music sounds so good, he doesn't need any help, I think he's perfect."
It sounds like typical over-the-top praise but this is coming from McDonald, the house producer for XL Recordings, arguably the most consistently quality imprint in the world. We have good reason to believe that what's (hopefully) the next release will follow that tradition.
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