Cashmere Thoughts · Artist one-sheet · August 2026
Rolling Stone UK
Winner of the 2024 Ivor Novello for Best Album. Number one on the UK jazz chart and 86 on Metacritic. 107 million streams on the album alone, and 1.25 million listeners a month. Four live albums released across three continents. The Cape Town concert film is out now, and more is already shot and recorded.
South London. Rhythm as a language, and a career built on making it travel.
Yussef Dayes is a South London-raised drummer, composer and producer whose sound has become one of the defining forces in contemporary UK jazz. He first emerged through United Vibrations, the Afrocentric group formed with his brothers, then helped shift UK jazz from specialist scene to global conversation as one half of Yussef Kamaal, whose 2016 album Black Focus became a landmark for a new generation of London musicians.
His 2020 collaboration with Tom Misch, What Kinda Music, reached number four on the UK albums chart on Blue Note. In 2023 came the defining statement: Black Classical Music, nineteen tracks with contributions from Shabaka Hutchings, Chronixx, Masego, Tom Misch and the Chineke! Orchestra. It topped the UK jazz chart, appeared across the year-end lists, won Best Album at the 2024 Ivor Novello Awards and made him a twice BRIT-nominated artist.
On stage he is one of the most compelling live performers in modern jazz: sold-out tours, the Royal Albert Hall, Southbank Centre, and The Yussef Dayes Experience, the live film series that has travelled from Joshua Tree to Malibu, Mount Fuji and Cape Town. Cashmere Thoughts is his own label, and it is the reason this conversation is about partnership rather than acquisition.
Lush, advanced and welcoming. Easily a top pick for best albums of 2023.
AllMusic · Best of 2023
An expansive, soulful set that embraces modern West Coast fusion.
Uncut · 8 / 10
The musical autobiography of a musician central to ongoing UK jazz development.
Clash · 8 / 10
An incredible, incredible body of work. Incredible arrangements, so much energy.
Nubya Garcia
Another masterpiece from a man with a discography full of them.
Loud & Quiet · 8 / 10
One of London's greatest drummers.
The Face
One of the most electrifying live performers of his generation.
107 million streams on the debut album. 1.25 million people listening every month.
Where he sits
Spotify places him alongside Alfa Mist, Kokoroko, Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper. His music sits on the platform's own playlists, including Global Groove and Jazz UK.
Most artists tour to sell the record. He records the tour, and sells that too.
Welcome to the Hills, Joshua Tree, Malibu and Mount Fuji are released: four live records in six years, on three continents. The Cape Town concert film, made with two South African choirs, joined them in July 2026.
| Release | Type | Home | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Ave / A Love Letter To Salvador | Single | Brownswood | 2026 |
| Live From Mt. Fuji | Live album | Brownswood | 2026 |
| Mt. Fuji FM — hosted by Gilles Peterson | Companion release | Brownswood | 2025 |
| MALIK — Venna | Album, 17 tracks | Cashmere Thoughts · ADA | 2025 |
| The Yussef Dayes Experience, Live From Malibu | Live album | Cashmere Thoughts · Brownswood | 2024 |
| Black Classical Music | Album, 19 tracks | Brownswood · Nonesuch · Cashmere Thoughts | 2023 |
| Live at Joshua Tree | Live EP | Cashmere Thoughts · Brownswood · Soulection | 2022 |
| Welcome to the Hills — Yussef Dayes Trio | Live album | Cashmere Thoughts | 2020 |
| What Kinda Music — with Tom Misch | Album · No. 4 UK | Blue Note | 2020 |
| Love Is the Message, Live at Abbey Road | Single, 12" | Cashmere Thoughts | 2018 |
| Black Focus — Yussef Kamaal | Album | Brownswood | 2016 |
Cashmere Thoughts is Yussef's own label, distributed by ADA. Black Classical Music, Joshua Tree and Malibu are co-releases with Brownswood. Masters on the label's own releases stay with Cashmere Thoughts.
This is the unusual part. The next cycle is not a pitch deck. The first film is already out, and the rest is shot and recorded.
Directed by TJ Sawyer, with the Thanda and Lizwi choirs. The first of the series made in Africa, released on YouTube in July 2026, including a tribute to Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe". The live album and vinyl follow.
A music film directed by Barker, in post-production. Distribution conversations target Netflix, Amazon, Apple and YouTube.
The third African project, planned around an overland convoy partnership with an automotive brand. Shoot date not yet set.
A full collaborative album with FKJ, already recorded. The pair have already co-headlined Central Park together, so the live proof exists before the record does.
A mixtape is planned for the next cycle.
The label owns its direct vinyl store. It is being rebuilt, with repress stock ready to sell and collector editions planned around each release.
Fashion got there first. All of it non-exclusive.
Paid partnerships completed with the houses below, including a Paris runway performance. No category is locked and no exclusivity is in place. Brand outreach runs on a commission-only model.
A partner for the next chapter, not a landlord for the last one.
The label is the artist's own. We are looking for a licence or a partnership structure, not a transfer of ownership.
International radio, press and editorial muscle behind a studio album that deserves a wider first week than the last one got.
The film slate needs a distribution partner with streamer relationships. The music and the films should be sold together, because that is how they were made.
The listener map is global and the touring is global. The paperwork should be too.