Joe Yorke & The Co-Operators – A Distant Beat

Sometimes you stumble upon an artist whom you’ve never encountered before, yet who appears to be worth exploring further after listening to his new single by chance. One such artist is Bristol based-singer Joe Yorke, whose latest single End Of The Day, a collaboration with Swiss reggae band The 18th Parellel, was sent by Fruits Records.

Further investigation into this artist revealed that he has emerged as a significant new talent in the UK music scene in recent years. He’s the singer of popular tunes like Tonight, which introduced Joe Yorke’s falsetto to the world, and Night And Day. He furthermore did collaborations with Stand High Patrol on tunes like Quicksand, Midnight Rock, and Rocking Ship. Yorke’s 2022 debut LP Noise And Emptiness, released by the Rhythm Steady label, earned him a strong reputation as one of the UK’s top artists, making fans eagerly anticipate the release of a second album in 2023.

For his sophomore LP titled A Distant Beat, Joe Yorke collaborated with his close friend, Eeyun Purkins, who is a producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Together with a group of very skilled musicians called The Co-Operators, Eeyun laid the riddim tracks he composed in the studio. Consequently, he wrote insightful lyrics for Joe Yorke to sing. Joe Yorke and Eeyun Purkins demonstrate remarkable chemistry on the 8-track The Distant Beat LP. The first track, The Singerman, sets the bar high, and the remaining seven tracks do not disappoint either as they are all matching the high quality of the album’s opener. The duo delves into tales of daily life, encompassing both uncertain futures and modern tragedies, all set to riddims that are strongly inspired by rocksteady and roots reggae. Eeyun Purkins’ artistic genius shines throughout the album, as he expertly blends original frequencies and arrangements into each track. On the other hand, Joe Yorke’s powerful falsetto vocals are on full display on several tracks. These include the superb Mr Officer, the emotive What Kind Of World and Skin Crawl. These, but also the other tracks, are expertly backed by The Co-Operators. Additionally, in particular Life And Debt features outstanding vocal precision.

The Distant Beat is an LP with beautiful tunes from beginning to end. One that should not be missed.