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Wu-Lu

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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.

Wu-Lu
Wu-Lu performing at Roskilde Festival 2023
Background information
Birth nameMiles Romans-Hopcraft
Born1989 or 1990 (age 34–35)[a]
Brixton, South London
GenresPunk rock
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass
LabelsWarp

Early life

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Miles Romans-Hopcraft was born and raised in Brixton, South London.[1] His mother, Hopal Romans,[2] is a lecturer and contemporary dancer, and an alum of the Alvin Ailey American Dance School.[3] 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.[4] Both twins guested with their father's band as preteens, with Miles playing bass which is his primary instrument.[3][5]

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,[3] starting to DJ himself at age 13.[1] 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.[5] 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."[5][1]

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.[5]

Career

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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.[6]

On 21 November 2021, Warp Records announced their signing of Wu-Lu and released his single "Broken Homes".[7] On 4 May 2022, he announced his debut album with Warp, Loggerhead, which included "Broken Homes" and four other singles.[6] The album was released on 8 July to a positive reception, receiving an 83/100 average score from review aggregator Metacritic.[8] It was nominated for Best Punk Record at the 2023 Libera Awards[9] and Best Independent Album at the 2023 AIM Independent Music Awards.[10]

On 4 April 2024, Romans-Hopcraft announced his third EP, Learning to Swim on Empty, and released its lead single, "Daylight Song".[11] The EP features contributions from poet and artist Rohan Ayinde and author Caleb Femi.[11] The second single, a dub-influenced song called "Sinner", was released on 1 May.[12] The EP was released on 17 May by Warp.[13] 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."[14]

Personal life

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Romans-Hopcraft lives in a Brixton flat with his brother Ben,[2][1] around the corner from where he was born.[1] He has multiple tattoos, including one of an executioner and one of Goku on his lower leg.[1]

Style

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Wu-Lu is known to cover numerous musical styles through his work, and has been called "genre-agnostic".[15] Songs of his have been described with such disparate genres as grunge,[7] post-punk,[7] dub,[7] trip hop,[16] alternative rock,[17] drum and bass,[18] folk,[18] screamo,[18] heavy metal,[19] drill, jazz,[15] garage,[20] art punk,[20] abstract hip hop,[21] skate punk,[21][4] downtempo,[22] lofi hip hop,[4] textural jazz,[4] and plunderphonics.[4] 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."[5] 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.[3][1]

His lyrics touch on subjects including racism,[18] gentrification,[18][21] economic inequality, and mental health.[15] 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."[5] Wu-Lu's music has been noted for an adherence to the punk ethos he grew up with,[5] sharing punk musicians' compulsion to speak truth to power.[6]

Influences

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Growing up, Romans-Hopcraft listened to artists such as Angie Stone and genres including reggae, dub, hip hop, salsa, rare groove, and Afrobeat.[4] When he got older, he got into heavy metal.[4] 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.[4]

Accolades

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Awards and nominations for Wu-Lu
Year Organization Award Work Status Ref.
2022 AIM Independent Music Awards Best Independent Track "Broken Homes" Nominated [23]
UK Music Video Awards Best Rock Video - Newcomer "Blame" Nominated [24]
2023 Libera Awards Best Punk Record Loggerhead Nominated [25]
AIM Independent Music Awards Best Independent Album Loggerhead Nominated [26]

Discography

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Albums

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EPs

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  • N.A.I.S. (2018, self-released)
  • S.U.F.O.S. (2019, self-released)
  • Learning to Swim on Empty (2024, Warp)

Singles

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Wu-Lu singles
Year Name Album
2021 "South"[16] Loggerhead
"Times"[17]
"Broken Homes"[7]
2022 "Blame"[6]
"Scrambled Tricks"[27]
2024 "Daylight Song" Learning to
Swim on Empty
"Sinner"

References

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  1. ^ An interview with Romans-Hopcraft's twin brother Ben says he was (and thus both brothers were) 27 years old on 26 July 2017.[2]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Walker, Sophie (17 November 2021). "On the Rise: Wu-Lu". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Famurewa, Jimi (26 July 2017). "Childhood's Ben Romans-Hopcraft: "Living as a young person in London can feel thankless"". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d Kellman, Andy. "Wu-Lu Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Cashin, Cal (14 July 2021). "Wu-Lu: community spirit, post-genre creativity, and rose-ringed parakeets". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g 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". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Helfand, Raphael (4 May 2022). "Song You Need: Wu-Lu takes out his miscommunication anxiety on the track". The Fader. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e Urban, Mike (21 November 2021). "South London artist Wu-Lu releases "Broken Homes" and signs to Warp Records". Brixton Buzz. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Loggerhead by Wu-Lu Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  9. ^ Simon, Perry Michael (16 June 2023). "A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners". AllAccess. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Raye and Shygirl Lead the Pack as AIM Awards Reveal First Nominations". AIM Independent Music Awards. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  11. ^ a b Kelly, Tyler Damara (4 April 2024). "Wu-Lu announces forthcoming EP, Learning to Swim on Empty". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  12. ^ Carter, Daisy (1 May 2024). "Wu-Lu Previews Upcoming EP Learning to Swim on Empty With Latest Single "Sinner"". DIY. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  13. ^ Thompson, Stephen; Cills, Hazel (17 May 2024). "New Music Friday: The best albums out May 17". NPR Music. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  14. ^ Qureshi, Arusa (17 May 2024). "Wu-Lu – Learning to Swim on Empty". The Quietus. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Balram, Dhruva (11 July 2022). "Wu-Lu's Loggerhead: A blistering takedown of austerity in London". Crack. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Song of the Day: Wu-Lu: "South" (featuring Lex Amor)". Song Bar. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  17. ^ a b Fu, Eddie (14 April 2021). "Wu-Lu Quietly Rages on Simmering New Song "Times"". Consequence. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  18. ^ a b c d e Kellman, Andy. "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  19. ^ Sutton, Naima (7 July 2022). "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". Clash. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  20. ^ a b Grice, Alisdair. "Wu-Lu Loggerhead review". DIY. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  21. ^ a b c Cashin, Cal (4 July 2022). "Wu-Lu - Loggerhead". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  22. ^ Roberts, Phillipe (11 July 2022). "Wu-Lu: Loggerhead Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  23. ^ Grein, Paul (28 September 2022). "Wet Leg, Stormzy & Rina Sawayama Win at 2022 AIM Independent Music Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  24. ^ "UK Music Video Awards 2022 winners announced". Shots. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  25. ^ Simon, Perry Michael (16 June 2023). "A2IM Announces 2023 Libera Awards Winners". AllAccess. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  26. ^ Parkel, Inga (26 September 2023). "AIM Awards 2023 winners in full, from Björk to Wet Leg". The Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Wu-Lu Returns With "Scrambled Tricks"". Clash. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
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