Infectious hooks and insanely catchy vocals are the norm on the banging debut of Guernsey-born producer Mura Masa. Showcasing some of his biggest hits for his self-titled record, Alex Crossan drops massive dance tracks with plenty of sentiment to boot.

With collaborations from established and up and coming names right now, including A$AP Rocky and Damon Albarn, Mura Masa shows a huge amount of development making it clear he is at the top of his game and here to stay.

Mura Masa’s rise to fame can only be described as meteoric, in the space of 3 years he has gone from an underground producer on Jakarta Records to a prominent name in pop. The self-titled LP is full to the brim of tracks we all know, with only four tracks not yet available online by the release day. On this, Mura Masa noted his desire to release an album full of hits to cement his name before moving on to more narrative albums. The record already feels familiar, with tracks such as the killer single ‘1 Night’ feat Charli XCX as well as ‘Lovesick’ with A$AP Rocky, a collaboration absolutely fundamental in his rapid rise to the limelight.

Watch the video for ‘1 Night (feat Charli XCX)’ below:

The album opens with the incredible ‘Messy Love’ featuring Alex’s own vocals which feature only on a few tracks in the record including ‘Give me the Ground’, a short interlude that accents the album perfectly. London producer Bonzai features heavily on two of the most iconic Mura Masa tracks on the album, prominent bass led tracks ‘Nuggets’ and ‘What If I Go’ are stand-out points and encapsulate the style of Mura Masa.

‘NOTHING ELSE!’ with Jamie Lidell is one of the few new tracks on the record and is an unusual collaboration, but one which is executed perfectly with an incredibly memorable chorus that feels as if it has been out for years. ‘Who Is It Gonna B (feat A. K. Paul)’ is an earth-moving ambient track preceding the slightly melancholic ‘Blu’ with Damon Albarn, a nod to Mura Masa’s girlfriend and my personal highlight of the album. Rounding off the record is a duet between Damon and Alex that shows a more considered side to Mura Masa’s songwriting.

Overall, ‘Mura Masa’ is a very strong debut. It delivers in its aim to be a series of huge hits but the downfall of this is a lack of direction which was seen on the previous mixtape ‘Soundtrack to a Death’. Nevertheless, this is made up for by near flawless production and a firm grasp of how to create a perfect pop song. Mura Masa has cemented his place as a modern pop producer and we can expect to be hearing his tracks on the radio and in clubs for a long while.

Catch Mura Masa at the following dates later this year – tickets here.

25 Aug – Reading Festival, Reading
26 Aug – Leeds Festival, Leeds
18 Oct – O2 Academy, Bristol
19 Oct – O2 Academy, Brixton
21 Oct – The Warehouse Project, Manchester

Get ‘Mura Masa’ by Mura Masa here: iTunes | Amazon | Google Play