New music – Adrian Sherwood, African Head Charge & Speakers Corner Quartet – Barbican Heights (On-U Sound)

adapted from the press release by Ben Hogwood

Following on from this year’s critically acclaimed The Collapse Of Everything, Adrian Sherwood teams up with Speakers Corner Quartet and African Head Charge for new four track EP Barbican Heights – a project which traverses the musical worlds of dub, jazz, electronic, afrobeat, and beyond.

Barbican Heights is born out of a spirit of collaboration, bringing together one of the UK’s most innovative and influential producers, Adrian Sherwood; one of the longest serving and most iconic members of the On-U Sound family, African Head Charge; together with Speakers Corner Quartet, a rising force whose influence is integral to the sound of the contemporary UK jazz scene.

Recorded during a singular day of creative spontaneity at Wicker Studios, the three acts, alongside Alex White of Primal Scream and Fat White Family, combined for semi-improvised reworkings of classic African Head Charge composition ‘Wicked Kingdom Of This Earth’, Speakers Corner Quartet’s own ‘Topanga’, as well as two new tracks constructed from scratch during the session.

The EP title, a sly nod to a classic Keith Hudson tune, refers to the upcoming show at London’s prestigious Barbican Theatre, which will see all three artists share the same bill. The show also sees headliner Adrian Sherwood on stage with his own live band for the first time, comprised of long-time collaborator, Doug Wimbish (Living Color, Sugar Hill Gang, Tackhead), the aforementioned Alex White, plus Mark Bandola (The Lucy Show) showcasing Sherwood’s new studio album, The Collapse of Everything, and other On-U classics.

Sherwood’s first solo album in thirteen years and only the fourth in his storied career, The Collapse Of Everything was released in August to great acclaim. More reflective than earlier records in his discography, the album plays out like a Jamaican spaghetti Western with its widescreen vistas and mood shifts, incorporating everything from dust-caked desert blues to earthshaking dubs decorated in seemingly infinite detail. An expansive palette that ranges from delicate piano motifs to heavily processed sound effects move in and out of a wide-panned stereo field, at times coalescing into an almost hallucinogenic state. Mojo Magazine calls it “Sherwood’s most thrillingly exploratory solo album so far.”

The show in February 2026 will also coincide with African Head Charge marking forty-five years since the release of their first album My Life In A Hole In The Ground. Started as a studio project by Adrian Sherwood and master percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah, in the basement studios on London’s Berry Street, beneath Chinatown, the group has gone on to release over a dozen studio albums (including 2023’s critically acclaimed A Trip To Bolgatanga), and developed into a potent live act, spearheaded by Noah, which has performed headline shows and festivals around the world.

Completing the lineup are Speakers Corner Quartet — a group defined by community, collaboration, and an unshakeable DIY spirit. Since forming in 2006, they have spent the past decade collaborating and shaping standout live and studio projects with artists such as Sampha, Kae Tempest, Tirzah, Dean Blunt, the late MF DOOM, and Lianne La Havas. Following the release of their critically acclaimed debut album Further Out Than The Edge (2023), the band have performed sold-out shows at The Roundhouse and Royal Festival Hall, delivered standout sets at Glastonbury and Montreux Jazz Festival, led a pioneering ICA residency exploring music and robotics, and scored the BAFTA-winning TV series Mr Loverman.

Adrian Sherwood Live Dub Sessions 2026:

5 Feb / Milan / Magazzini Generali

6 Feb / Gent / Wintercircus

11 Feb / Berlin / Metropol

13 Feb / Stockholm/ Fasching

17 Feb / London / The Barbican * w/ live band, African Headcharge + Speakers Corner Quartet

26 Feb / Madrid / Club Villanos

28 Feb / Barcelona / La Nau

26 Mar / Tennessee / Big Ears festival

27 Mar / NYC / Superior Ingredients (rooftop)

28 Mar / Montreal / Club SAT

31 Mar / Toronto / Standard Time