Outsider

Tiwayo — 2026

“With Outsider, Tiwayo plants himself firmly in classic soul and lets the feeling do the work.”

If you’ve never heard of Tiwayo, don’t feel bad because most people outside of certain soul circles haven’t. Born in Paris, the singer has spent years traveling the world, busking, and soaking up American blues and gospel firsthand. He put out several early records on Blue Note Records before largely stepping back from music but that is when Adrian Quesada of the Black Pumas heard some demos and invited him to Austin. The result is Outsider, an 11-track set is built around live, organic instrumentation, with most of the Black Pumas band in the room and guitarist Doyle Bramhall II contributing to three tracks. It is a fantastic modern soul record that feels lean and earns every second.

Outsider lives in the world of classic Memphis soul. Think Al Green, Syl Johnson, Hi Records with that slow-burning, bass-forward, where the groove does most of the talking and the voice carries the weight. The album opens with “I’ve Got to Travel Alone,” that instantly takes you to another era. The production from Quesada is warm and uncluttered, as the drums sit back in the mix, the keys give things a slightly dusty texture, and Tiwayo’s voice, with its rough-edge, holds the whole thing together. From start to finish Outsider is a 70’s smoldering groove fest.

Compared to his Blue Note material, Outsider feels more stripped back and focused. His earlier records had a wider reach, and pulled in other sounds like folk and world music influences. This one narrows things down considerably, planting both feet in Southern American soul and not moving.

Al Green is an obvious reference point with specifically the Hi Records era from the early to mid 1970s. Syl Johnson is another solid comparison, and the opening track alone might have you reaching for some Otis Redding or Percy Sledge after the fact. For something more current, Charles Bradley covered a lot of this same territory before his passing, and Curtis Harding, who Tiwayo has actually opened for, carries a similar style while Lee Fields is worth mentioning too.

On a contemporary side, Kelly Finnigan of the Monophonics shares Tiwayo’s commitment to a lived-in vintage soul sound. Aaron Frazer, best known as drummer and co-vocalist for Durand Jones and the Indications, is another solid pick. Tiwayo’s voice sits lower and grittier than Frazer’s falsetto, but both artists are working from the same classic soul foundation.

Another interesting parallel is Bobby Oroza. Like Tiwayo, Oroza is a non-American soul singer was born and raised in Helsinki, Finland, that finds his reverb-saturated vocals and analog arrangements drawing heavily from 1960s soul and R&B-influenced pop. If Tiwayo’s story of a Frenchman finding his voice in Memphis resonates with you, Oroza’s path is worth exploring for the same reasons.

“Daddy Was Born with the Blues” is the emotional center of the record. It’s Tiwayo’s tribute to his late father, and Bramhall II’s guitar work gives the track a different kind of weight than anything else here. Strings from Sly5thAve push it even further. It’s the kind of song where you can tell it came from a real place. “My House Is Your Home” is another one to pay attention to. The track has a foot tapping beat that sounds so familiar you might think it is a classic cover. “Unchained Lovers” with Kendra Morris (Colemine Records) clicks immediately. Their voices lock together in a smooth, slow burn interplay that builds a magnetic tension, the kind that lingers and keeps pulling you back in. Finally, “Up for Soul” is one of the most upbeat numbers here, perfectly placed mid record to lift the album’s momentum as it carries the closest Black Pumas feel, with its warm groove and confident vocal push lighting things up at just the right moment.

Tiwayo keeps things direct. He writes about loss, travel, love, and the experience of being an artist who never quite settles anywhere. “I’ve Got to Travel Alone” opens the record with a kind of personal declaration while “Dark Skies” deals with grief without over-explaining it. What I like about the writing on Outsider is that it doesn’t overcomplicate things with simple and to the point lines. These are feelings most people have had, and Tiwayo presents them without drama.

Outsider is a focused, confident return from an artist who probably should have had more attention before now. The record is not trying to push soul music forward but honor its tradition. Tiwayo does that very well as Outsider is the kind of record that rewards repeat plays and sounds better playing it on a turntable and hearing it through speakers than earbuds. With Quesada behind the board and a band this good around him, Tiwayo should now be on your new soul radar!