Labi Siffre is officially ending one of the longest recording gaps in modern music.
The influential British folk and soul artist has announced Unfinished Business, his first studio album in 28 years, marking a major return after decades largely outside the spotlight. The album, scheduled for release later this year through Demon Music Group, will be his first full-length project since 1998.
Alongside the announcement, Siffre unveiled a new single, “Far Away,” a piano-driven ballad that highlights the emotional songwriting and soul-influenced style that defined much of his earlier work. The track arrives with an official music video, giving fans their first proper listen to material from the upcoming album.
Now 80 years old, Siffre built his reputation in the early 1970s with a prolific run of releases, including his acclaimed 1972 album Crying Laughing Loving Lying. After releasing multiple projects in quick succession during that decade, he stepped back from recording, only resurfacing occasionally in the ’80s and ’90s. His last major releases before this announcement were The Last Songs and the spoken-word collection Monument, both released in 1998.
Although he hasn’t released an album since then, Siffre has remained creatively active in quieter ways. He shared the single “(Love Is Love Is Love) Why Isn’t Love Enough?” in 2020, and a version of “Far Away” appeared in a 2022 BBC documentary about his life, though it was never formally released until now.
He also recently made a rare live appearance on BBC Radio 2, performing with the BBC Radio Orchestra as part of a special session promoting the upcoming album. During the performance, he revisited classics like “My Song,” performed “Far Away,” and covered The Four Tops’ “Baby I Need Your Loving.”
Siffre is a familiar name to hip-hop fans, as his 1975 track “I Got The…” has been sampled in two different tracks by rap legends. The song’s beginning was used in Jay-Z’s “Streets Is Watching,” and a middle section forms the basis of Eminem’s breakout hit “My Name Is.”
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