What better way to start the day than with a guest playlist kindly curated by Mo Kolours & The Co-Operators?
The pair, who last month released ‘Fruits of the Diaspora’, an ocean-deep mystical journey from the Maroon mountains of Mauritius to the Lion of Judah’s home in exile, Bath, via London’s Ladbroke Grove.
They recorded the album between February and May 2026, and the collaborative process shaped its unique sound. The unusual percussion partnership between Mo Kolours and Eeyun Purkins (The Co-Operators) is a key feature. The music feels both new and ancient. Mo’s expressive voice moves through the rhythms he creates, guiding listeners along ancestral paths – beating his Ravanne, playing his Maroon Pipe, or following the pulse of drums that Eeyun carved by hand.
Compared with Mo Kolours’ earlier solo work, Fruits of the Diaspora is more like a shared production world. His earlier records are generally associated with a personal, rhythm-led blend of dub, hip-hop, reggae, and percussion, whereas this project widens the frame through The Co-Operators.
As the title itself suggests, there’s a broader social and cultural focus at play. Instead of centring one artist’s palette, the album uses collaboration to amplify the idea of diaspora as collective, mobile, and built through exchange.
We’re thrilled they created this fantastic playlist, which highlights the wide range of influences at play in their music.
Their playlist pulls together a killer spread of sounds: The Congos, Sun Ra, Danyèl Waro, Curtis Mayfield, Karl Bryan & Count Ossie, Freddie McGregor, and more. A blend of roots, cosmic jazz, soul, Sega and deep Jamaican rhythms that make for a blissful listening session.
To give a little insight into their selections, here’s what Purkins shared about the playlist.
Aspects of mine and Mo’s musical tastes are universes apart. However the common ground is so closely in orbit that it was on a collision course. In the end, our album was made not just from the common ground but also from the tensions of our differing tastes. Sat in the middle of us was Martin Poole, the executive producer, whose deep knowledge of Jazz, soul and reggae placed him perfectly in the midst of this album.
A playlist of the influences on ‘Fruits of the Diaspora’ could only start one way. And that has to be with Keith Hudson’s ‘Hunting’. Followed by The Congos, a group that have been inspiring me since I was a teenager. (This one produced by Lee Perry). Mystical business. Musical perfection!
Much like the luminaries of Jamaican music, we weren’t just inspired by reggae when writing and recording this album. Mo described the tracks as being ‘moods’ which I think is accurate. They also all have a time and a place. The jungle, the mountains, dusk, dawn, the desert, the streets and the ocean. Sun Ra’s summoning of space was a big influence on this energy. Also many of the hand drums we used on this record I carved by hand and after telling Joseph this he told me about Sun Ra’s lightning drum (look this up if you don’t know about it, it’s a good story!).
Alongside Sun Ra, Sabu Martinez & Danyèl Waro showcase the eclectic influences this album summoned. Whilst we were working on this album Joseph introduced me to the Sega music of his father’s birthplace Mauritius. Although Danyèl is from neighbouring Reunion Island, the sounds have commonalities and we both enjoyed listening to this record one morning in the studio.
We all love Curtis and he definitely left his mark on this record. His arrangements are perfect, his story telling is beautiful and of course that voice. The perfect imperfection of I-Mo-Jah and the percussive force of Ras Michael’s ‘Hear River Jordan’ also had to feature. I remember driving home from the studio one evening under gold and indigo night skies with ‘Jah Love’ blasting. For me, reggae can’t be discussed without dropping a few shots from Studio One. Master drummer Count Ossie & Karl Brian’s hauntingly serene ‘Black Up’ and Freddie’s classic ‘Homeward Bound’. – Eeyun Purkins
‘Fruits Of The Diaspora’ is out now digitally, and for vinyl lovers, the wax drops on 7th August. Buy here.
