Jordan Mackampa, Magic Review

Jordan Mackampa is a London based soul singer that is injecting the soul sound with his combination of Congolese roots and midlands upbringing. That unique soul style informs the sounds and stories of the music that is inspired by the cities he’s inhabited over the years. Other inspirations include his childhood memories of his mother’s love of the great soul singers, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, and Curtis Mayfield. Mackampa combines his timeless vocal with catchy melodies and well-written lyrics to create an alternative pop and soul vocal style that will enchant and uplift at equal rates. Following a sold-out Village Underground show and multiple sold-out European dates, including Berlin, Amsterdam, and Hamburg in 2019, Mackampa has announced a mammoth 2020 tour of North America, United Kingdom, and Europe, including Scala, London, and SXSW. Produced by Dani Castelar (Paolo Nutini), ‘Magic’, Mackampa’s debut album Foreigner will release on 13th March 2020. He is now releasing another single from the album called “Magic.” “Magic” follows the release of singles “Parachutes” (Nov ’19), ‘‘What Am I” (Sept ‘19), and “Under” (May ’19). Mackampa has released three EP’s; Live From The Grand Cru, (rel late 2017), Tales From The Broken, (rel early 2017), and Physics EP, (rel 2016). Mackampa has strong support on Spotify; all 3 EP’s have collectively amassed over 60m streams.

Positives: A relaxed soulful vocal style is built throughout “Magic,” and that offers a broad appeal to many listeners.

Bottom Line: Mackampa continues his embrace of musical styles beyond his former singer-songwriter repertoire on “Magic.” The energetic melody is well-sung with solid rhythms. The Congolese-British artist’s excellent soul vocals sing the lyrics in celebration of love. The vocal harmonies and counterpoints are superb. Mackampa says, “This is a bossa nova/samba/ infused feel-good kinda track about when you can’t get someone off your mind. You’ve had one taste, and you want more!” The song form evolves over time and has varying degrees of intensity and vocal and instrumental colors. With a catchy melody and infectious rhythms, “Magic” is a solid single and foreshadows the excellent music to come on Foreigner in March. That’s the short of it!