Wu-Lu Explained

Background:person
Wu-Lu
Birth Name:Miles Romans-Hopcraft
Birth Place:Brixton, South London
Genre:Punk rock
Occupation:Musician
Instrument:Vocals, bass
Label:Warp

Miles Romans-Hopcraft, known professionally as Wu-Lu, is a musician from Brixton, South London. He has self-released one album and two EPs, and released his first album with Warp Records, Loggerhead, in 2022. His music covers a wide variety of genres, including several types of hip hop and rock, though he is most commonly associated with punk rock.

Early life

Miles Romans-Hopcraft was born and raised in Brixton, South London.[1] His mother, Hopal Romans, is a lecturer and contemporary dancer, and an alum of the Alvin Ailey American Dance School.[2] His father, Robin Hopcraft, is a trumpeter and co-founder of the London reggae fusion band Soothsayers. Romans-Hopcraft has a twin brother, Ben, who plays in the bands Childhood, Warmduscher, and Insecure Men.[3] Both twins guested with their father's band as preteens, with Miles playing bass which is his primary instrument.

Romans-Hopcraft listened to a large variety of music genres growing up, finding music from his parents, skateboard and graffiti culture, and video game soundtracks. These genres included hip hop, grunge, alternative metal, pop-punk, and underground electronic genres such as drum and bass, UK garage, broken beat, grime, and dubstep. He discovered an interest in turntablism and sampling after watching the documentary film Scratch, starting to DJ himself at age 13. He also produced beats with a drum machine, sampling records which his mother gifted him. Romans-Hopcraft's first musical projects were as a dubstep producer under the name TJ Mileage and as one half of an atmospheric hip hop duo called Monster Playground. He eventually settled on the name Wu-Lu, which he says reminded him of the Amharic word for water, "wuha", taking it because he didn't want to be "confined to any shape."[4]

As a teenager, Romans-Hopcraft spent a lot of his time at a local skate park, picking up on the personalities of the older punks who frequented there. He said they took him under their wing, having an "'I don't give a shit' attitude" but "always look[ing] out for the youngsters." When he enrolled at the Brixton music and media school Raw Material, he took that attitude with him, tutoring other students in music production. After leaving the school, he worked at Alford House, a youth club in Kennington.

Career

Romans-Hopcraft self-released his debut album as Wu-Lu, Ginga, in 2015. He also self-released two EPs, 2018's N.A.I.S. and 2019's S.U.F.O.S.[5]

On 21 November 2021, Warp Records announced their signing of Wu-Lu and released his single "Broken Homes".[6] On 4 May 2022, he announced his debut album with Warp, Loggerhead, which included "Broken Homes" and four other singles. The album was released on 8 July to a positive reception, receiving an 83/100 average score from review aggregator Metacritic.[7] It was nominated for Best Punk Record at the 2023 Libera Awards[8] and Best Independent Album at the 2023 AIM Independent Music Awards.[9]

On 4 April 2024, Romans-Hopcraft announced his third EP, Learning to Swim on Empty, and released its lead single, "Daylight Song". The EP features contributions from poet and artist Rohan Ayinde and author Caleb Femi.[10] The second single, a dub-influenced song called "Sinner", was released on 1 May.[11] The EP was released on 17 May by Warp.[12] It uses a recurring motif of water, drowning, and floating, with Romans-Hopcraft saying "Life throws us in the water all the time but always know that it's a myth that we can't swim – keep pushing."[13]

Personal life

Romans-Hopcraft lives in a Brixton flat with his brother Ben, around the corner from where he was born. He has multiple tattoos, including one of an executioner and one of Goku on his lower leg.

Style

Wu-Lu is known to cover numerous musical styles through his work, and has been called "genre-agnostic". Songs of his have been described with such disparate genres as grunge, post-punk, dub, trip hop,[14] alternative rock,[15] drum and bass, folk, screamo,[16] heavy metal,[17] drill, jazz,[18] garage, art punk,[19] abstract hip hop, skate punk, downtempo,[20] lofi hip hop, textural jazz, and plunderphonics. Wu-Lu said he didn't know what genre to refer to Loggerhead as, suggesting that "maybe the name Wu-Lu will become a genre in itself." He has often been connected to the South London jazz scene, due in part to his collaborations with jazz musicians Nubya Garcia and Zara McFarlane.

His lyrics touch on subjects including racism, gentrification,[21] economic inequality, and mental health. He described his personal connection with these issues by calling his hometown of Brixton sugar cane being turned into white sugar, where "all the nutrients and joy are being refined out of it into something that is unhealthy." Wu-Lu's music has been noted for an adherence to the punk ethos he grew up with, sharing punk musicians' compulsion to speak truth to power.

Influences

Growing up, Romans-Hopcraft listened to artists such as Angie Stone and genres including reggae, dub, hip hop, salsa, rare groove, and Afrobeat. When he got older, he got into heavy metal. He has also called DJ Shadow's 1996 album Endtroducing..... a "seminal discovery", and mentioned love for Mica Levi, Slauson Malone, Sorry, Pink Siifu, and London's jazz, hip hop, and guitar music scenes.

Accolades

Awards and nominations for Wu-Lu! Year! Organization! Award! Work! Status!
2022AIM Independent Music AwardsBest Independent Track"Broken Homes"[22]
UK Music Video AwardsBest Rock Video - Newcomer"Blame"[23]
2023Libera AwardsBest Punk RecordLoggerhead[24]
AIM Independent Music AwardsBest Independent AlbumLoggerhead[25]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Wu-Lu singles
YearNameAlbum
2021"South"Loggerhead
"Times"
"Broken Homes"
2022"Blame"
"Scrambled Tricks"[26]
2024"Daylight Song"Learning to
Swim on Empty
"Sinner"

Notes and References

  1. News: Walker . Sophie . 17 November 2021 . On the Rise: Wu-Lu . May 4, 2023 . The Line of Best Fit.
  2. News: Kellman . Andy . Wu-Lu Biography . May 4, 2023 . AllMusic.
  3. News: Cashin . Cal . 14 July 2021 . Wu-Lu: community spirit, post-genre creativity, and rose-ringed parakeets . January 16, 2024 . Loud and Quiet.
  4. News: Kalia . Ammar . 16 August 2022 . "Maybe we'll become a genre": Wu-Lu, the punky lo-fi hip-hop star moving fast to transcend labels . April 11, 2023 . The Guardian.
  5. News: Helfand . Raphael . May 4, 2022 . Song You Need: Wu-Lu takes out his miscommunication anxiety on the track . April 11, 2023 . The Fader.
  6. News: Urban . Mike . 21 November 2021 . South London artist Wu-Lu releases "Broken Homes" and signs to Warp Records . April 11, 2023 . Brixton Buzz.
  7. News: Loggerhead by Wu-Lu Reviews and Tracks . April 11, 2023 . Metacritic.
  8. News: Simon . Perry Michael . June 16, 2023 . A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners . June 16, 2023 . AllAccess.
  9. News: July 19, 2023 . Raye and Shygirl Lead the Pack as AIM Awards Reveal First Nominations . July 21, 2023 . AIM Independent Music Awards.
  10. News: Kelly . Tyler Damara . 4 April 2024 . Wu-Lu announces forthcoming EP, Learning to Swim on Empty . April 21, 2024 . The Line of Best Fit.
  11. News: Carter . Daisy . 1 May 2024 . Wu-Lu Previews Upcoming EP Learning to Swim on Empty With Latest Single "Sinner" . May 1, 2024 . DIY.
  12. News: Thompson . Stephen . Cills . Hazel . May 17, 2024 . New Music Friday: The best albums out May 17 . May 19, 2024 . NPR Music.
  13. News: Qureshi . Arusa . May 17, 2024 . Wu-Lu – Learning to Swim on Empty . May 19, 2024 . The Quietus.
  14. News: February 7, 2021 . Song of the Day: Wu-Lu: "South" (featuring Lex Amor) . April 11, 2023 . Song Bar.
  15. News: Fu . Eddie . April 14, 2021 . Wu-Lu Quietly Rages on Simmering New Song "Times" . April 11, 2023 . Consequence.
  16. News: Kellman . Andy . Wu-Lu - Loggerhead . April 11, 2023 . AllMusic.
  17. News: Sutton . Naima . 7 July 2022 . Wu-Lu - Loggerhead . April 11, 2023 . Clash.
  18. News: Balram . Dhruva . 11 July 2022 . Wu-Lu's Loggerhead: A blistering takedown of austerity in London . April 11, 2023 . Crack.
  19. News: Grice . Alisdair . Wu-Lu Loggerhead review . April 11, 2023 . DIY.
  20. News: Roberts . Phillipe . July 11, 2022 . Wu-Lu: Loggerhead Album Review . April 11, 2023 . Pitchfork.
  21. News: Cashin . Cal . 4 July 2022 . Wu-Lu - Loggerhead . April 11, 2023 . Loud and Quiet.
  22. News: Grein . Paul . September 28, 2022 . Wet Leg, Stormzy & Rina Sawayama Win at 2022 AIM Independent Music Awards . April 13, 2023 . Billboard.
  23. News: 27 October 2022 . UK Music Video Awards 2022 winners announced . April 13, 2023 . Shots.
  24. News: Simon . Perry Michael . June 16, 2023 . A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners . June 16, 2023 . AllAccess.
  25. News: Parkel . Inga . September 26, 2023 . AIM Awards 2023 winners in full, from Björk to Wet Leg . September 26, 2023 . The Independent.
  26. News: 21 June 2022 . Wu-Lu Returns With "Scrambled Tricks" . April 11, 2023 . Clash.