David Mrakpor
David Mrakpor , born c. 1994, is a London-based multi-instrumentalist, performing on keyboards,[1][2] bass,[3] guitar,[4] drums[5][6] and vibraphone.[7][8]
David Mrakpor is part of Blue Lab Beats, as “Mr DM”[4] and won a Grammy Award in 2022 for music production on Angelique Kidjo's Mother Nature LP (Best Global Music Album).[9][10] They won The Innovation Award at Jazz FM Awards 2022,[11] were nominated for Best Jazz Act at MOBO Awards 2021[12] and are signed to Blue Note Records.[13][14] Single “Pineapple” has been streamed over ten million times on Spotify.[9]
David Mrakpor has released singles under his own name on the Jazz re:freshed label,[15] including “My Life (feat James Coleman)”[16] and “Lonely”.[17] He is credited as a performer or producer with multiple artists including Joe Armon-Jones,[18] Nubya Garcia,[4][19] Moses Boyd,[20] Kojey Radical[4] and Ultra Nate.[21]
Mrakpor began playing musical instruments from the age of three years old[6][13] and as a teenager attended Tomorrow's Warriors[13] and WAC Arts in London, where he met Blue Lab Beats collaborator NK-OK (Namali Kwaten).[4][22][23] Mrakpor gained a degree in Jazz Studies from Middlesex University.[4] He is a regular on London’s “jazz jams” scene, including at Orii Jam[6] and Troy[13] and has headlined shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.[24][25] J Dilla and Milt Jackson are cited as influences,[19][24][1] as well as Thelonious Monk and Herbie Hancock.[26][27]
Mrakpor plays vibraphone in Brown Penny, a six-piece band led by Mercury-nominated Cassie Kinoshi,[8] and in trumpeter Mark Kavuma’s The Banger Factory,[7] featuring a solo on a track titled “Mrakpor”.[7] He plays keyboards in JD3[1] and in Jon Onabowu Quartet.[2]
The winner of the Live category at the Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards in 2022 was John Lyons' photograph of Mrakpor playing drums.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "JD3: Live at Jazz re:freshed". Jazz re:freshed. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Jon Onabowu Quartet". Ronnie Scott's. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "David Mrakpor (bassist)". Discogs. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f "Blue Lab Beats, interview: the scene is strong". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Abbey Road Studios Music Photography Awards 2022". Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Blue Lab Beats crosses jazz and electro with afrobeat". Le Monde. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Mark Kavuma: The Banger Factory". All About Jazz. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Brown Penny". King's Place. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Blue Lab Beats (UK)". Gannet. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Grammy award-winning artists to play new jazz festival". BBC News. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "2022 Awards Winners". Jazz FM Awards. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "MOBO Awards 2021 Nominees". NME. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Blue Lab Beats on jams, developing new techniques on Maschine & their new album Motherland Journey". Spitfire Audio. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Blue Lab Beats". EartH. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Jazz re:freshed". Beatport. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "My Life (feat. James Coleman) - David Mrakpor". Shazam.
- ^ "Lonely by David Mrakpor". Bandcamp. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Joe Armon-Jones - No Weapon". Discogs.
- ^ a b "Watch a documentary about the future of London's jazz sound". Dazed Digital. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Black Opus (feat. Moses Boyd & David Mrakpor)". Shazam. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Ultra Nate - Ultra - Fun". Discogs. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Artist Spotlight: Blue Lab Beats". The Pit London.
- ^ "Blue Lab Beats: London's "jazztronica duo" cultivating some of the city's most dynamic sounds". Life & Soul Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Blue Lab Beats + David Mrakpor Jam Session". Ronnie Scott's. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "David Mrakpor and Friends". Ronnie Scott's. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "On The Rise". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Blue Lab Beats". Casio. Retrieved 1 November 2022.