Confucius MC & Bastien Keb: A Journey Through Sound, Memory & Emotion

South London’s Confucius MC and visionary multi-instrumentalist Bastien Keb are forging a new sonic path with their upcoming album, Songs For Lost Travellers—a deeply meditative fusion of rap, folk, and jazz. Set for release on 7th February 2025 via Shabaka Hutchings’ Native Rebel Recordings, this project strips away convention, embracing raw home recordings, intimate storytelling, and the echoes of personal history.

With grief and hope entwined in every note, the album is an exploration of solitude, loss, and the search for peace. From the hushed immediacy of ‘Tell Me Lies’ to the haunting echoes of ‘Little Man’, where Confucius MC pens a heartfelt tribute to his son, every track exists in a liminal space between memory and reality.

No polished studios, no overproduced takes—just two artists embracing imperfection, weaving truth into melody, and creating a record unlike anything before it.

Songs For Lost Travellers touches on profound themes like grief, solitude, and philosophical reflection. What inspired you both to delve into these topics, and how do they connect to your personal journeys?

B - I think it appears naturally. If you're making music on your own you tend to have a lot of time to contemplate your surroundings and situations. People watching, and bigger physiological thoughts on purpose, nihilism and mortality. Rarely do these musings produce a club banger. Although I reckon 'eyes to see' could get a club bouncing.

C - I think there's a number of things that contribute to the themes on the record. When we started working on the record the world was still very much reeling from the effects of the pandemic and I think its safe to say grief, solitude and philosophical reflection had become preoccupations for many of us both individually and collectively. I wanted to try and capture the sense of waking up in a world that had changed, a world that were all learning to re-navigate as 'lost travellers' still trying to hold on to connections from the past. I think On top of this I was definitely thinking a lot about my father who passed away a few years ago. He was a musician, we didn't have a great relationship Nd especially since becoming a father myself I've felt rhe absence of the connection alot more. So in many ways the writing on this record is about Navigating fatherhood without having a father and how at times it can leave you feeling like a 'Lost traveller' trying to reach a destination without the much needed signposts guiding you.

You chose to work outside of professional studios, embracing the intimacy of home recordings and first takes. How did this approach shape the sound and feel of the album?

C - Sometimes there's an urgency to writing and recording that you just cant teplicate outside of that moment. No matter how many times you re record it's impossible to recapture the feeling and texture of the demo. I think also there's an intimacy about recording yourself especially at home . This is a very personal record for both of us and I think it makes sense that the majority of it was recorded in our natural habitats.

B - Honestly, budget. The music industry is and has been on its arse for a long while. Growing up I always wanted to record in the big recording studio manor house, but nowadays everyone's studios are all on a laptop, so it's rare to get a chance to record properly. Albums don't make too much money anymore, so you gotta make it work how you can. Recording in flats and terrace houses. It's all I've known so it kinda feels comfortable. Not saying I don't wanna make a record in a big ass studio with a massive orchestra though! 

The album is described as a fusion of rap, folk, and jazz. How did you navigate blending these genres, and what challenges or surprises did you encounter along the way?

C - I think we qerw both very concuous of the fact that we wanted to avoid the tropes of the rapper producer album. I didn't want Keb to send me just the stuff he thought would work with raps on it, I knew his sound overlapped alot of styles/genres and I wanted to explore that world. In particular I was drawn to the folk stuff Keb had been qorking on, there's something so earnest about the sounds and shapes of folk guitar that I felt drawn to and when we started experimenting with the vibe it just came completely naturally. Hip Hop music tends to rigidly stick to time signatures so working outside of the typical time structures was definitely a challenged and pushed me to write in a way I haven't had to before. 

B - I try and make all my records a combination of all the music I love, and have always been aware the music has to sit with each other correctly. Sometimes it's just a matter of using certain instruments across all tracks and genres. Just gotta stand back sometimes and listen to the whole album as a piece of work itself, moving through movements. 

Family plays a significant role on the album, from your son's voice on "Paramount" to Bastien’s recordings of his mum and cousin. How did these personal elements enhance the storytelling in your music?

C - I think we're all very much defined by our relationship to family be that positive or negative. I was thinking alot about my connection to my father while writing for this record and ultimately what I'll be leaving behind for my son one day. That might sound a bit morbid but actually I saw it more as a motivational thought in the best possible way. The song 'Little Man' is basically an Ode to not only fatherhood and rhe joy my son has brought me but also to the the joy we can take from another persons happiness. 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran is a book my mum gave to me as a gift in my early teens that has stayed with me throughout my adult life so it felt fitting to have my son Leo read a passage from.

B - My mum stopped playing the saxophone a little after my recording of her, so its a nice reminder that she use to play.

My cousin is a phenomenal sax player, and I trust him and feel comfortable with him playing on my stuff, so hopefully that's a start of playing together more regularly. He started playing in my live band. And he's got his debut record out on Albert's favourites label this year.

"Songs For Lost Travellers" being such a unique and meditative project, how do you see it influencing your future works individually and as collaborators?

 C - Without a doubt making this record has changed my approach as an artist. Keb's creativity as well as his belief in what I do really allowed me a freedom that I haven't really experienced before. We have a very natural synergy and we both have a desire to push the boundaries of our art so whatever we do next together will be another voyage into the unknown.

B - For me in terms of me and Cons future, I think this record has laid a foundation to push the risks for the next one. 

Maybe this record is a little left field, but I'm aiming to make the next one fucking mental.ion to push the risks for the next one. 

Maybe this record is a little left field, but I'm aiming to make the next one fucking mental.