Lil Silva’s debut album Yesterday Is Heavy presents an enigmatic coup, ten years in the making. Pulling so tenderly from a liberal influence of genres, Yesterday Is Heavy is complex, fluid and above all, intuitive.

From his breakout 2010 Night Skanker, Lil Silva solidly emerged on the underground electro scene with pressure, subsequently moving on to work on a variety of distinct projects with his “Silva Sound”. Spanning the beloved Patience EP and electric dyad OTHERLiiNE, through to testing his utility, producing for Adele and working with tastemakers like Mark Ronson, the artist has an impressive catalog.

With a 12-unit tracklist, Lil Silva demonstrates his lifetime of studying and cultural influences, gifting us a uniquely balanced collection of songs. Recipients are gratified with a nuanced album that flows from base-rich, energy-laden club-feel gems to groovier mid-tempo mixes in seamless synchronicity, in this thoughtfully prolonged debut offering.

Speaking to The Fader on his career, the artist expresses his defiance of a standard in how he should release his music, rather pressing focus on feeling connected to the project or opportunity to determine his next step. Noting a shift in the scene, artists are evidently feeling moved to experiment with more funky, house, and jungle sounds, seeing amapiano and new-wave house mixes gain a sudden burst in popularity. But for long-time listeners, it would be hard to say that many can appreciate the core feel of these sub-genres and operate them as skillfully and well-intentioned as Lil Silva.

In the interview the Bedford-native also touches on the direction of U.K music and its influence, saying ‘I have a lot of love for those founding producers: people like Apple, Roska, Crazy Cousinz, and DJ Naughty. The sound is coming back around, and I don’t think it’s a sound that is done. I hear it in amapiano a lot — that sound definitely has a U.K. Funky influence. I still hear my songs from back then on the radio and in DJ sets. It’s a timeless era’.

‘Yesterday Is Heavy’ features a champion roster of talent and longtime collaborators, naming Sampha, Little Dragon, Skiifall, Charlotte Day Wilson, Ghetts, instrumental production team BADBADNOTGOOD and serpentwithfeet. The album triumphs in its collation, engaging listeners in a personal journey of Lil Silva’s bond to music and ability to make you feel through his sound, easily presenting us a gracious mix of future classics.