Scene pioneers unite to help Junglist Movement founder Leke Aerosoul

The Aerosoul Album is out now

Alaska, Manix, Equinox, Double O, Nookie, Seba, John B and many more hugely respected names in drum & bass jungle have contributed unique and exclusive tracks to The Aerosoul Album; a VA collection of straight-up, uncut jungle bangers that exists purely to help one of UK music culture’s most influential and loved individuals: Leke Adesoye.

Renowned for his iconic designs that have been worn and repped by everyone from Ghostface Killah to Harry Shotta to Ed Sheeran to Ian Wright, Leke is the gifted designer behind the iconic Junglist Movement t-shirts which have remained an essential staple of the culture since appearing on the clubbing movie Human Traffic way back in 1999.

With a strong role, influence and connections across hip-hop and jungle, Leke and his Aerosoul brand have been a huge source of inspiration and energy throughout many musical and cultural movements. Through his unique drops, events, collaborations, promotion and constant enthusiasm for the music and helping people, he’s backed and supported hundreds of young artists and collectives who have since gone on to great things. But now he needs support in return.

In September 2022 Leke fell from a stage at an event and broke his leg. This unfortunate incident marked the start of a whole series of life-endangering situations and complications for the London designer. Following a leg amputation last year he remains in hospital now fighting stage four cancer.

Leke’s got a real drive. He’s always been pushing and moving forward and he’s a hugely positive source of energy and inspiration,” says DJ Trax AKA David Davies, an artist who has known Leke for many many years and was in fact involved in one of Leke’s earliest musical projects: Mixrace, a ground-breaking hip-hop trio that also comprised eminent jungle pioneer Dev Paradox.

“He’s been so supportive of the scene since day one,” Trax continues. “So many people wear his Aerosoul brand around the world. Actors, singers, underground, commercial – his brand speaks to people across the board. He’s shown us nothing but love so I want to make sure he feels that love back.”

Over the last three months Dave Trax has been rallying up the troops, working with Si from 2 Bad Mice, Overshadow’s Rebecca, archivist and Deep Jungle founder DJ Harmony to curate a fund-raiser album that will support Leke and his young family during this very challenging time. The end result is The Aerosoul Album, a 16 track collection that features tracks from an almighty cross-section of drum & bass jungle culture. Many of whom were responsible for creating the sounds and culture we still enjoy to this day including Deep Blue, Manix (AKA Reinforced co-founder and 4 Hero member Marc Mac) Equinox and Paradox himself under his Alaska guise.

“We reached out to people who we knew are close to Leke and asked if they’d be up for writing something exclusively,” says Trax. “It’s testament to what Leke means to people. They didn’t hesitate to get involved. The whole album was mastered by Bob Macc at Central Mastering and the artwork was done by Blueskin Badger. A lot of people have really put their time in on this. It’s been beautiful.”

The album dropped on May 26 and has already raised an impressive sum to help support Leke, his wife and two young daughters. Available exclusively on Bandcamp, you can grab it here, and  all proceeds go direct to Leke.

The support doesn’t stop there. Other initiatives have been shown across the industry in recent months. Dan Crespel has launched a Justgiving fundraiser while Fokus MC organized and ran a stream for Leke last week on Thames Delta Radio with the likes of Harry Shotta, Nookie, Five Alive, 2 Bad Mice, Artificial Intelligence, Collette Warren & Ben Soundscape and DJ Trax all representing.

“We’re open to any ideas,” says Trax. “Like the stream the other week, or the Justgiving campaign, whatever anyone can do. It’s all going to Leke and his family to help them at this time. Whatever anyone can do would be hugely appreciated.”

1 More Thing sends Leke maximum strength right now. Please support The Aerosoul Album if you’re able to. For a deeper dive into Leke’s story and to catch a sense of his positivity and energy, this in-depth interview I did with him on UKF in January 2020 captures where he’s come from and why he does what he does. Leke is genuinely one of the most consistent and dedicated soldiers in the scene. Show him some love and grab this incredible album today.

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