Sure, he's a musician, but he's also a poet and a novelist. That’s why the new musical work by Anthony Joseph cannot be separated from his writing. The album The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running For Their Lives is made up of live recordings. It can be listened to as a big jam session, with impressive fellow musicians including Shabaka Hutchings. The album’s themes are also the themes of Joseph's literary works: memory, heritage and the feeling of belonging. On stage, Joseph has for years approached music in the tradition of West African griots and the calypsonians of his native Trinidad; he is a musical storyteller. All this with an undeniable amount of soul and funk. Joseph’s compositions are texturally strong, but equally danceable, leaning heavily on rhythms and driving brass, full of Afrobeat and jazz.
