Joel Culpepper joins forces with Tom Misch for new single, ‘Free’
South East London’s Joel Culpepper is making a triumphant return alongside Tom Misch for his forthcoming EP, Happiness Is Only A Few Miles Away, slated for release on October 27th, 2023, via Beyond The Groove.
Alongside the announcement, Culpepper treats his fans to a brand new single titled ‘Free’ featuring Tom Misch. Misch also produced the EP, which marks Joel’s first musical offering since his acclaimed debut album, Sgt Culpepper, arrived in 2021.
Discussing the new single in press materials, Culpepper says: “When Nina Simone said ‘What is freedom to me? No fear!’ I feel ‘Free’ is no fear with only this addition; it’s our choice.”
Continuing: “We choose our own incarceration. Our bars. The bad situations that can grip us and hold us, we also have the power, through self-acceptance, seeing it and making a point – still I rise. Doesn’t remove pain but learning to suffer less feels like our decision.”
“‘Free’ feels like a real embodiment of Tom’s support of me and connecting to something unfamiliar…nature!” he adds. “Hikes, Surfing, Cold Water, Calisthenics… Tom mostly laughing and cheering me on in the attempt. Carrying me down the mountain because my knee gave out was a new level of friendship.”
He added that his creativity is now guided by newfound sobriety and meditation. “I found myself going weekly all of sudden, gaining peace and maybe even a bit of healing,” he continues. “I’d say people noticed a positive shift in me without me explicitly saying I’d been meditating. Almost like I was getting better without me really realising.”
Culpepper also addresses the EP title, which evokes his sentiment that “vulnerability is our superpower and I hope that even though parts of this project are painful it also still translates as hopeful. Self love or rather self-acceptance is the biggest act of kindness.”
Listen to ‘Free’ below.
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