Inner Light
WheelUP

WheelUP emits ‘Inner Light’, his album featuring Sio, Abacus, Steven Bamidele, Victoria Port, Liv East and Sean McCabe.

The album marks WheelUP’s evolution, spiritual and sonic, breaking from his celebrated broken beat legacy to explore new frontiers in his production. The album’s namesake and focus track, ‘Inner Light’, sits centrepiece in the album, pulling together its dynamic, high-spirit threads with global groove overtones and sax-led strut.

‘Inner Light’ is centred around “the guiding life force (what is called Chi energy in Eastern cultures),” WheelUP explains, emitting positive energy through thoughts, decisions and actions. He adds “The project represents a musical vibration that aligns with my own inner light.” ‘Inner Light’, ventures into house and disco cuts, alongside WheelUP’s signature mastery of broken beat production, showcasing his resourceful artistry and genre-spanning vision. “I think my sound is in constant evolution,” he adds.

Opening the album is ‘Angel’, made with label mate Steven Bamidele, a neo-soul-tinged, funk-filled disco number. “It’s a new direction of travel musically, one which I am very much enjoying.“ WheelUP adds, the perfect introduction to his branching out. Steven appears later on ‘Take My Word’ which carries through the funky disco feel, with bass licks and tropical percussion.

WheelUP teams up with multi-hyphenate poet, DJ, and singer-songwriter Sio on three soulful house tracks “Tepid”, “Magnetic”, and “Best You”. A leading voice in South Africa’s music scene, Sio is celebrated for her authentic vulnerability and impeccable storytelling. This vibrant groove highlights WheelUP’s versatility as a producer, blending deep, soulful house with sweeping synths and funky basslines, perfectly complementing Sio’s radiant voice.

Amongst the collaborations is Sean McCabe, “A legend in house music” as WheelUP describes. The Bristol-based producer has amassed an impressive discography, delivering inspired reworks for labels like Local Talk, Z Records, Strictly Rhythm, Room Control, Tribe, Quantize and his own label Good Vibrations Music. A self-confessed lover of “vintage synthesisers – picked up from listening to classic New York boogie and ‘80s soul”, which can be heard through ‘Commit To Sound’. The vintage synths and nostalgic chords are paired with a crisp modern finish and samba-esque percussion. A deep broken beat cut, the track is reminiscent of early 4hero.

Victoria Port features prominently across the album, lending her signature warmth and ethereal vocals. “Victoria brings a wholesome energy and angelic vocal delights,” WheelUP shares. “She’s such a positive, sweet-hearted person. I love making music with her just as much as performing live.” Port’s vocals grace tracks including ‘Voice Inside’, ‘Find A Way’, and ‘Duality’, culminating in a high-energy finale on ‘Night Vision with Abacus’. On this club banger, the trio locks into a driving house groove, with tight drum syncopation and peak-hour intensity. “’Night Vision’ is probably my first fully defined house record,” says WheelUP. “I went in on the synths to channel a Kaytranada-esque, Quincy Jones, and Neptunes-style warmth.” The result is a feel-good closer that leaves the album on a euphoric high.

On the penultimate track WheelUP joins forces with East London’s songstress Liv East – and long-time collaborator Abacus (aka Harry Bryson) – for ‘Safe In Your Arms’. With her R&B and neo-soul inflexions, Liv’s sultry vocals explore the uncertainty in a new connection, set against a backdrop of honeyed, soulful house. “Safe In Your Arms is about that feeling you get when you start falling for someone; everything is new and mysterious, yet there are still questions about whether this person will be able to make you feel safe enough to let your guard completely down. It’s a reflection on that liminal space between euphoria and fear of falling in love again.” Liv East

The project follows WheelUP’s sophomore album, ‘We Are The Magic’, along with recent remixes, including his take on Alice Russell’s Rain and fresh reworks of his tracks by Wipe The Needle, Afriquoi, and Makoto.