Review: Kiiōtō - Black Salt (Kiiōtō Records)

The new album by Kiiōtō is definitely "spine-tingling" and unique as who'dthere have thought that there could be a jazz-noir folk Carole King, Khruangbin, Alice Coltrane influenced duo could be so good!

Fans of the single(s) 'Warpaint' and 'Little Axe' (see review HERE) will know what to expect on the 10 track album, 'Black Salt': or do they?

Mercury Music Prize nominated singer/songwriter Lou Rhodes, former lead vocalist and co-founder of Lamb, joined forces with award-winning songwriter and pianist Rohan Heath to form Kiiōtō after both had seemingly stepped away from making music. Kiiōtō’s second album, 'Black Salt', casts the net wide and deep in the stories it tells. Throughout, the arrangements remain spare and bold, leaning into jazz, broken beat and soul textures, with references as diverse as Carole King, Khruangbin and Alice Coltrane.

Written primarily in Kiiōtō’s home studio in North London, Black Salt features guest appearances from a melting pot of musicians, notably guitarist Hawi Gondwe (Amy Winehouse), double-bassist Andy Hamill (4 Hero, Carleen Anderson), drummer Mykey Wilson (Corrine Bailey Rae), and even some impromptu guitar by the one and only David Arnold.

Debut single Butterfly is a dark and brooding critique of a narcissist, its prowling bass, angular chords and bell motif creating a claustrophobic chill. In contrast, Zero Gravity - inspired by Samantha Harvey’s Booker Prize winning novel “Orbital”- zooms out into space, reflecting upon the transformational experience of orbiting Earth, its heartbeat intro giving way to brush drums and stacked vocal refrain. Little Axe tells of the challenges of raising young men amidst the threat of violence in urban life, set to soulful guitar and congas, while White Noise highlights the hold of social media on the modern mind, in staccato rhythm and abstract piano. Lost Map reflects on the results of DNA tests the duo took in search of a deeper understanding of their disparate heritages, against a backdrop of spacious piano and muted trumpet. Closing track Five Eight, conveys the aching loss of Heath’s mother, Rhodes’ vocal stripped bare over shimmering Wurlitzer. Throughout, the arrangements remain spare and bold, leaning into jazz, broken beat and soul textures, with references as diverse as Carole King, Khruangbin and Alice Coltrane. The resulting album is impossible to define by genre, but is fused by the unique interplay of Heath’s melodic sensibilities and Rhodes inimitable voice.

Of the making of the album, Heath says: "The creation of Black Salt wasn’t an easy one. Yet it was precisely out of conflict, tension and introspection that it was born. Sometimes it felt like two planets colliding; a new star forged of chaos and heat, brighter than the sum of those destroyed." “Black Salt was a rite of passage,” adds Rhodes, “one that often took us to places way beyond our comfort zones. The result though, is an album we couldn’t be prouder of.”

It certainly is a special album that needs more than a couple of listen's to fall in love with it, but once you're there, you definitely wll.

PS. Special Album Launch Show at the perfect venue in London, Kings Place on May 1st, 2026.

Further UK & Europe dates TBC.

Album pre-order and gig tickets here: https://linktr.ee/kiioto

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Black Salt | Kiiōtō

Artist: Kiiōtō

Title: Black Salt

Release date: 17th April, 2025

Label: Kiioto Records

Catalog Number: KIIOTOLP01NC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Kiiōtō - Warpaint b/w Little Axe (Kiioto Records)

If Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s, Jazz FM) says it's, "spine-tingling" you be sure to be prepared to have your spine tingled with the duo, Kiiōtō!

Bundled together with the stunning 'Little Axe', 'Warpaint' is the third and final single before the release of Kiiōtō's forthcoming album 'Black Salt', out on April 17th.

A woman in a man’s world

Pullin’ a punch in every breath

Paint a rosy smile upon my face

While I fight at every step.

'Warpaint' tells of a woman’s struggle to stay strong amidst the challenges of being female in a world that remains, for the most part, male dominated: allowing vulnerabilty to shine through only when safe. With its vintage soul leanings (featuring Amy Winehouse guitarist Hawi Gondwe) there are echos of Aretha Franklin’s 'Natural Woman', written by the legendary Carole King. Warpaint is imbued with a similar timelessness, Rhodes’ vocal soaring over Heath’s soulful piano.

Third single from the upcoming album 'BLACK SALT', 'Warpaint' is backed with B-side 'Little Axe', a song that tells of the pressures of raising young men in an urban lansdcape. Opening on a spaciously reverbed Wurli, before kicking into a soundscape that evokes Khruangbin and Curtis Mayfield in equal measure, the lyric evolves toward an impassioned guitar and string-driven climax.

Kiiōtō are Mercury Music Prize nominated singer/songwriter Lou Rhodes, formerly of Lamb, and multi-award winning pianist/songwriter, Rohan Heath. Their debut album, 'As Dust We Rise', was released in July 2024 to positive reviews in Mojo and Uncut, and support at BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 4 and Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM.

"...spine-tingling..." - Dom Servini, Jazz FM

"...pure class..." - Chris Hawkins, BBC 6 Music

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Black Salt | Kiiōtō

Artist: Kiiōtō

Title: Warpaint b/w Little Axe

Release date: 3rd April, 2025

Label: Kiioto Records

Catalog Number: TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp