Soft Boy Records

PHANTOM OF THE AFTERS is the 3rd album from Irish rapper Kojaque, out on his very own Soft Boy Records. With landmark projects Deli Daydreams and Town’s Dead, that saw him 2x nominated for Choice Music Prize, receive support from Radio 1, 1xtra, 6Music, support Loyle Carner & Lana Del Rey and headline festivals across Ireland, Kojaque changed the rap landscape (and Irish culture) for good. Collaborations on his latest project include Biig Piig, Wiki, Charlotte Dos Santos and Gotts Street Park. The album traces blurred outlines of childhood trauma, depression, grief and love, interweaving the physical and emotional journey of central character Jackie Dandelion with bigger questions about immigrant identity, homesickness, cultural stereotypes and ultimately the reconciliation of self. Kojaque has created a cinematic-universe that is bigger in scope but also more tender and intimate in approach than ever before. It’s this willingness to be vulnerable - grotesque, even - that’s captured in the album’s iconic artwork, which subverts the bigoted depictions of Irish caricatures in 19th and 20th century Punch Magazine cartoons and sees this particular Phantom of the Opera remove not just those distorted masks, but also his own. With songs that are cocksure and contemplative, brutally honest but also refreshingly myth-making, PHANTOM OF THE AFTERS marks a new era from Kojaque: one of his generation’s most unique talents. In suitably audio-visual style, the album traces blurred outlines of childhood trauma, depression, grief and love. It interweaves the journey of central character Jackie Dandelion from Dublin to London with bigger questions about immigrant identity, homesickness, cultural stereotypes and ultimately the reconciliation of self. It’s this willingness to be vulnerable - grotesque, even - that’s captured in the iconic artwork, which subverts the bigoted depictions of Irish caricatures in 19th and 20th century Punch Magazine cartoons and sees this particular Phantom of the Opera remove not just those distorted masks, but also his own. The record drops alongside one of its more brooding moments, ‘WHAT IF?’: a soulful ode to anxiety, and the crippling impact of fear in moving forward in life or your relationships. “I’ve been obsessed with Charlotte Dos Santos ever since I heard her project Cleo,” Kojaque comments. “She’s just got such a distinct voice and sound. I sent the track over hoping she’d be into it and she sent me back a near perfect hook.” A fully independent artist, Kojaque has brought a stellar lineup of guests together on his latest work: from Biig Piig, Charlotte Dos Santos and NY rapper Wiki (who featured on ‘JOHNNY MCENROE’) to Gotts Street Park (‘BAMBI’) plus production credits such as Calvin Valentine (Ryan Beaty), Tony Seltzer (Eartheater, Freddie Gibbs) and Karma Kid (Hak Baker, Shygirl). PHANTOM OF THE AFTERS will see Kojaque continue to blaze a trail around the world. He first came to prominence with the genre-bending concept record Deli Daydreams: it became the first mixtape to ever be nominated for the Choice Music Prize, and demonstrated his prowess not only as a polymathic artist, but DIY label-head (co-founding Soft Boy Records, which was subject to a Boiler Room documentary) and visual artist (Kojaque has received a prestigious Royal Hibernian Academy Award for his film-making). Even as the rest of the world sat up and paid Irish Art some long-overdue attention, Kojaque’s creative output has remained thrillingly uncompromising. Tour-de-force debut album Town’s Dead examined everything from gentrification, masculinity and mental health to a gnarly love-triangle unfolding on New Year’s Eve, held together by a multi-hyphenate attitude. Once again nominated for the Choice Prize, Kojaque played a sold-out UK & European headline tour around the restrictive local lockdowns, with the album landing additional support across the likes of Radio 1, 1xtra, 6Music, plus shows with Lana Del Rey and Loyle Carner (who also sampled Kojaque on hugo). With his landmark projects to date, Kojaque changed the rap landscape (and Irish culture) for good. On PHANTOM OF THE AFTERS, you sense he’s just getting started. Praise for debut album, Town’s Dead “A brilliant, personal, urgent record that confirms Kojaque as one of the leaders in the current wave of great musicians emerging from Ireland” - NME **** “Sharp, poetic...few albums this year can be as potent as this - Loud & Quiet, 9/10 “Dripping with humour, personality and cinematic storytelling, Town's Dead is all you could ever want in a debut" - DIY **** “The raw reality of sex, violence and depression” - The Face “A dizzying debut…so many ideas, influences, moods, mates, silly scenarios and gritty social politics that you’ll need a lie down” - Sunday Times Culture “Channels Kanye and Kendrick…Kojaque’s time is now” The Observer

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Repress! DELI DAYDREAMS is a conceptual project chronicling a week in the life of a Deli worker. The project meanders through the daydreams of KOJAQUE, the main protagonist, as he contemplates love, life and loneliness in the lead up to the annual work Christmas party. The project is a vignette of working life in Dublin, mundanity, madness and escapism.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net

Dog Person is the deserved culmination of a whirlwind few years for Kean Kavanagh. His debut project, the ten-track collection prominently features his aforementioned semi-fictional, cigarette-bumming, binge-drinking, lovestruck alter-ego; a persona with just an echo of his real personality reverberating throughout the record. Kicking off this year with the delectable “Roll Over!”, Kean returned earlier this month with his new single “EMMA”. A developed sound, the single delved deeper into Kean’s incredible versatility as an artist - drawing a grittier sound and formulating a high-octane single that wouldn’t sound out of place in a festival headline set. This all served to prove that Kean Kavanagh had firmly stepped into the limelight; garnering support from the likes of i-D, DIY Magazine, Clash, Notion and more. Cofounder, producer and A&R of Irish Label Soft Boy Records, Kean had previously pulled the strings behind the scenes; but is now becoming one of the most exciting names on the emerging music scene. A story-teller, word-smith and dexterous musician with a strong imagination, Kean’s career is set to project far beyond his Irish roots. . Founded in 2015, Soft Boy Records morphed into a cultural behemoth that gripped the Irish music scene and has refused to let go - alongside his co-founder Kojaque, Kean found himself sharing stages with big names such as Slow Thai and Lana Del Ray, as well as his consequential solo-slots opening for Maverick Sabre and Vampire Weekend. Earlier this year, Kean appeared on the Everything is Recorded project ‘FRIDAY FOREVER’, (curated by Richard Russell of XL Recordings) alongside Aitch, Flohio, Maria Somerville, Ghostface Killah and others, and aligning himself with a tastemaker and hot tipped selection of musical peers. A sensational debut offering showing dexterous musicianship and lyrical magic, Dog Person places Kean as one of the most exciting emerging talents coming through.

Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: gpsr@wordandsound.net