Rainy Miller and Space Afrika (a.k.a. Joshua Inyang and Joshua Tarelle Reid) will release a collaborative album on Fixed Abode.

Since their first encounter in 2020, Preston producer Rainy Miller and Manchester duo Space Afrika instantly knew they would work together eventually. In early 2023, while touring and performing, the pair began working on A Grisaille Wedding, an expansive collection of 11 songs exploring the concept of joyous occasions happening in greyscale, drawing metaphors from the contrast between light and dark.

This project brings together a diverse range of artists curated by both acts, including RenzNiro, BobbieOrkid, Iceboy Violet, Richie Culver, Mica Levi, Coby Sey, and Voice Actor.

“A Grisaille Wedding is a project based in the personification of the semi-fictitious world that Space Afrika have come to build over the years. Using musique concrète and British soundscapes, I wanted to fuse the sonic with both noise and the contemporary,” Rainy Miller says.

“Space Afrika’s work has always contained meaning and message, but it was an early intention of mine to try and perform within their world in a much more literal sense, to put more of a focal point on voice and lyricism for this environment they have created,” Miller continues.

The lead single, “Maybe It’s Time to Lay Down The Arms,” expresses the fight between accepting love and pushing against it. “The disbelief that comes with somebody being willing to put in the effort to love you, and trying to learn to bring down your walls,” Inyang and Reid say in a statement.

The song features a sparse and smudged verse from Mica Levi and the first vocal performance on record from Joshua Inyang. The video which is streaming below is directed by Zane Crowther.

Tracklisting

01. Summon The Spirit / Demon feat. Voice Actor
02. Maybe It’s Time To Lay Down The Arms feat. Mica Levi
03. 00-down / Murmansk 12
04. Sweet (I’m Free) feat. RenzNiro & Iceboy Violet
05. Shelter
06. HDIF feat. BobbieOrkid
07. The Graves At Charleroi feat. Coby Sey
08. 1-2-1
09. Let It Die
10. I Believe In God, When Things Are Going My Way feat. Richie Culver
11. Bobbies Reprise feat. BobbieOrkid (Bonus Digital Only)

A Grisaille Wedding LP is scheduled for November 16 release. Meanwhile, you can stream “Maybe It’s Time To Lay Down The Arms” in full via the player below and pre-order here.

Photo: Frankie Casillo.