Mura Masa and Off The Block Present: Demon Time, retrospective

It’s difficult to have a conversation about music and nostalgia without Mura Masa (aka Alex Crossan) inevitably coming up. Crossan has delved into the intricate theme on numerous occasions throughout his discography – though perhaps nowhere as holistically as his last studio album, Demon Time. Yanking listeners back a couple of decades to the rose-tinted, sweat-covered euphoria of the early noughties, the work is by no means a gimmicky imitation of a now much-cosplayed era. Rather, it is a sonic exploration of the way in which an aesthetically sensuous (and sensual) era embedded itself in the mind and soul of someone growing up within it. As Crossan himself says, “I personally really hate the term Y2K. I think it flattens quite a complex feeling and culture down to an aesthetic thing. In popular culture, the late ‘90s and early noughties were very optimistic about the future. You could imagine a future that was interesting, and I think that that doesn’t really exist now. I decided I wanted to make something that was fun, hedonistic, imaginative and optimistic in a way.”

Two years on from the release of what is perhaps Demon Time’s most nostalgic track — the much-lauded update of iconic ’04 banger ‘Baby Cakes’, featuring PinkPantheress, Shygirl & Lil Uzi Vert — Off The Block has teamed up with Crossan to curate a comprehensive retrospective of album’s making. From conception to release, the zine sees Crossan guide us through the project step-by-step and song-by-song, leaving no stone unturned. From in-studio anecdotes to personal inspirations to unused album artworks, this is a unique and in-depth exploration of what it actually takes to make a hit album, straight from the horse’s mouth. Because, at the end of the day, we could all still do with a little Demon Time in our lives 😈