So this is probably the first and last album review that I’m going to do that isn’t really…well….an album at all. Jai Paul is a much hyped, enigmatic, electronic music producer from London. He has attracted a large amount of buzz in the last couple of years because of a couple of stunning singles, namely “BTSTU” and “Jasmine”. There was talk that a debut album was due out at some stage later this year. However, on the 14th of this month a collection of songs under Paul’s name unexpectedly appeared on Bandcamp. Most just deducted that this was his debut album, however a day later Jai Paul and his record company took to social media to announce that the album consisted of a number of unfinished demos and was actually a fake. But slap my arse and call me Judy if this isn’t the best damn fake album that will be released this year!

Okay, so I’ll be honest it’s far from perfect. There’s a lot of shit on here that is just….well….freaking weird. 6 of the 16 tracks are just short sound bites that include random samples from random sources (including part of one of the Harry Potter movies). However, the majority of the rest of the leak is pure pop gold. The second and fifth tracks on the ‘album’; “Str8 Outta Mumbai” and “Genivieve” both display bouncy beats and colourful synth flourishes. “Genivieve” in particular, has synths ricocheting around at a 100 miles an hour but it still manages to come across as a cohesive track despite the rainbow of sounds.

“Zion Wolf”, “Jasmine” and “Crush” display Paul’s darker side. Thicker bass, slower pace and more downbeat lyrical delivery make them perfect contrasts to the more upbeat tracks. “Jasmine” in particular is an absolutely stunning track. It’s easy to see why people got so excited after hearing that track. Have a listen in the link below.

The other track that created much of the initial buzz was “BTSTU”. The final track on the leak is one of the other undoubted stand outs. A softly sung verse cascades into an infectious, synth propelled chorus that is one of the album’s best moments.

This ‘album’ may not be the most cohesive or consistent thing that you’ll ever hear but when it’s good it’s really damn good. When Jai Paul does actually release a proper album don’t be surprised if it blows up because this guy has talent and bucketloads of it.

7/10

- Daniel Cottam

​Jai Paul - Jasmine