Vicktor Taiwo

Joy Comes In Spirit

In a world where art is compromised and commodified, shrunk down and boxed in, Vicktor
Taiwò wants us to open up. The vibrant young singer-songwriter traffics in subtle hints and
soaring melodies, slow creeps and grand climaxes. Taiwò is on a mission to collect
something from himself, and it’s a journey worth following.
His debut album, Joy Comes in Spirit, is at once experimental and comforting – collected
shards of soul and style reassembled into something entirely new. The record introduces a
bold new artist willing to take musical and lyrical risks, and to bare himself to an international
audience. The result is an arresting, unforgettable work that shrugs off the expectations we
have that musicians fit easily into recognisable molds.
From 'Joy Comes in Spirit’s first note, Vicktor is mining his own psyche for its dark depths and
hidden crevices, demanding from himself the sort of emotional reaction his work incites in
others. Songs like “Subducta. Psalm 69,” a seven-minute, multi-part epic, echo
contemporary hip-hop, “tDS (Surf)” seems designed to be sung around campfires in the
distant future, “Supernatural Women” traces 808s & Heartbreak back to its Zappian roots.
And “Summon,” one of the record’s highlights, is like if you trapped a troubled spirit in a
GameBoy Colour