Sam Akpro’s Gauzy gathers five tracks into a portrait of an artist continually reshaping his sound. The Peckham-born musician’s first major release since his debut album Evenfall blends new material with two previous singles: “Dusty” and “Wayside,” the latter featuring London singer TYSON. The title track, created in collaboration with HORNETS, sets the exploratory tone of the EP with soulful melodies, sweeping shoegaze guitars, and raw lo-fi beats.
Akpro has described “Gauzy” as a song about stepping into the unknown and confronting the changes that follow. The instrumental felt like a transition, he says, where each section suggested its own sequence. He connects that feeling of movement to the project as a whole, reflecting a year spent rebuilding and finding new directions. The song develops over its three minutes, shifting atmosphere rather than settling into just one particular mood.
A Collection of Contrasting Musical Scenes
“Dusty” opens with floating synths reminiscent of the shadowy soundworld of a 1970s Italian giallo thriller before transitioning into a dub-influenced, deceptively tropical pulse. Akpro's vocal lines serve as a more contemplative counterweight, circling around themes of lost time and missed opportunities. The single was accompanied by a video directed by Dylan Coates, whose visuals interacted with the song’s bittersweet mood and themes of breaking free from dependency.
On “Wayside,” Akpro and TYSON alternate vocal parts over production described as a nocturnal meeting ground between trip-hop and neo-soul. Skewed beats, rich bass, and fleeting brass details give the song a multi-layered, dreamy character. The collaboration broadens the EP’s sonic palette while keeping the focus on atmosphere and rhythmic details.
The tracklist also includes “Headspace” and “Lost Property,” which frame the three more thoroughly discussed songs into a five-part collection. Altogether, the titles and contrasting arrangements suggest a whole built from musical vignettes rather than a unified statement. The EP moves between hazy guitar textures, electronic colors, and groove-based production, anchored by Akpro’s restless expression, which creates continuity.
Evenfall laid the foundation for this sound world, and the album was noticed by publications such as Dazed, NME, Clash, The Face, Rolling Stone UK, MOJO, DIY, The Line of Best Fit, and Uncut. According to the provided release notes, the album also received radio support from BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 1, and Apple Music 1. “Death By Entertainment” made the A-list on BBC Radio 6 Music, while other album tracks were highlighted by presenters such as Mary-Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Chris Hawkins, Nemone Metaxas, Tom Ravenscroft, Deb Grant, Benji B, and Matt Wilkinson.
On Evenfall and Gauzy, Akpro’s music is marked by a noir atmosphere rooted in South London: raw but dreamy, psychedelic yet driven by a distinctly physical energy. The urgency of post-punk stands alongside dub-influenced rhythms, and the arrangements draw on various styles without letting genre boundaries define the whole. On Gauzy, this openness is particularly evident in the movement between the title track’s blurred guitars, “Dusty’s” dub pulse, and the soulful, nocturnal production of “Wayside.”
The EP’s listed track order is “Headspace,” “Wayside” with TYSON, “Dusty,” “Gauzy,” and “Lost Property.”
