“Red Herring” is the new single from Chasing Shadows, the fifth studio album by Nubiyan Twist, a nine piece UK collective led by guitarist and producer Tom Excell, due on 20 March 2026 via Strut Records. The track brings Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde into the band’s mix of hip-hop, jazz writing and electronic production, with Brown guesting over a setting of clipped drum programming, warped synth tones, low tuned bass, strings and close scored horns.
Excell and Brown first connected during Damon Albarn’s Africa Express excursion in Mexico. “We played each other some projects we’re working on and realised we shared the same musical vibe. When Tom sent me the idea, it was a no-brainer,” Brown recalls. On “Red Herring”, his verses focus on a relationship that falls apart and on what the band describe as the wider misdirection tied to Big Tech and AI, with lines about situations that “died on the honeymoon”, evidence being “sanitised” and dreams “neutralised.”
Nubiyan Twist formed in 2011 at Leeds College of Music and now record with a line up of Excell, bassist Luke Wynter, keyboardist Lewis Moody, trumpeter Jonathan Enser, saxophonists Nick Richards, Denis Scully and HannahMae Birtwell, drummer Finn Booth and Eniola Idow, a Trinity Laban graduate, joins as lead vocalist.
The album continues the band’s approach of building records around guest vocalists. Fatoumata Diawara sings on the title track, Joe Armon-Jones leads “Rhythm Of You,” Patrice Rushen plays piano on “Threads,” M.anifest raps on “How Far,” Mr Williamz voices “Message,” and The Zawose Queens appear on “Mlonje: Voices Joined.”
Excell sets the album directly against generative AI. “We wanted to make something that felt joyous and defiantly human. You can get an AI to write a fugue in seconds, but it can’t capture the chemistry and chaos that happens when musicians lock in together,” he explains.
The band has a UK tour booked for April and October, including a date at KOKO in London on 30 April.
Listen and pre-order Chasing Shadows through THIS LINK