Messiah by Brandon Markell Holmes & Cee ElAssaad

Brandon Markell Holmes and Cee ElAssaad team up on New York's Toucan Sounds for two soulful house tracks.

Photo by Conrad Clifton

The title track "Messiah" leads the release with joyful organic drums and an earworm bassline, piano keys introducing Brandon's graceful, warm voice. His passionate prayer intertwines effortlessly with Cee ElAssaad's expert production fusing afrobeat, soul & jazz. Halfway through the track Holmes' pious invocation breaks through the mix, summoning a gorgeous organ finish. "Yaweh" then continues the release with subtle melodics and heartfelt vocal harmonies, it's an emotional piece melding feelings of pain and hope, rounding off another quality release on toucan sounds - this time in the spirit of Easter.

Brandon Markell Holmes is a formally trained theatre actor and musician working his own art into history, having appeared on the Grammy-nominated Gorillaz album "Humanz", as well as being featured in Afropunk for his visual EP "Inertia". He now follows up his recent vinyl EP on Toucan Sounds featuring house legend Derrick Carter with this Cee ElAssaad collaboration. Cee is a chart-topping artist who is equally talented as he is versatile, signed to labels like Stereo Productions, Ibadan Records, and Stereo MC's Connected, and celebrated for his collaborations with artists like Thandi Draai, Antonio Ocasia, and Janne Tavi.

Brandon Markell Holmes & Cee ElAssaad - Messiah
Release Date 7th April 2023
Label Toucan Sounds

Tracklist
01. Brandon Markell Holmes & Cee ElAssaad - Messiah
02. Brandon Markell Holmes - Yaweh