Now 80, Siffre has spent much of the past two decades away from the album cycle, releasing only occasional singles and making rare live appearances while his classic recordings quietly gathered new generations of listeners online. Unfinished Business, due later this year via Demon Music Group, is his first full album since 1998’s ‘The Last Songs‘ and spoken-word project ‘Monument‘, ending an almost three-decade pause in his studio discography. The new record arrives at a moment when his catalogue, once a cult concern, has been reframed as foundational listening for contemporary pop, hip-hop and indie fans alike.

Lead single ‘Far Away’ anchors the announcement, a reflective piano ballad that leans into the soulful inflexions that have long underpinned Siffre’s folk-rooted music. Built around intimate vocals, the track feels like a continuation of the emotional clarity that defined songs like ‘Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying’ and ‘My Song’, but delivered with the weight and stillness of an artist looking back over a long life. ‘Far Away’ has already been showcased in a rare BBC Radio 2 Piano Room performance, where Siffre paired the new piece with ‘My Song’ and a cover of the Four Tops’ ‘Baby I Need Your Loving‘, underlining how comfortably his new material sits alongside his vintage work.

Siffre’s return has been building quietly for several years, helped by social media virality and high-profile sync placements. ‘Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying’ featured prominently in the 2024 film The Holdovers, while ‘Cannock Chase’ appeared in the critically acclaimed Sentimental Value the following year, pushing his songs back into wider public consciousness.

At the same time, tracks like Bless The Telephone have taken on new life on TikTok, and official channels have been steadily uploading restored videos and interviews, reframing him for a younger, online audience.

Across the 1970s and 1980s, Siffre released a run of albums that blended folk, soul and jazz, yielding UK hits like ‘It Must Be Love’ and the anti-apartheid anthem ‘(Something Inside) So Strong’ which would go on to be reimagined through popular covers by Madness, Kenny Rogers and others. His tracks have also been sampled in acclaimed hip-hop singles, including Ye’s cult-classic 2007 single ‘I Wonder’, which samples Siffre’s ‘My Song’.

With a poignant legacy spanning several decades, a legacy now both nostalgic and new to many, Labi Siffre’s ‘Unfinished Business‘ is expected to unite his audience through his revived, soul-touching soft-rock and folk sound. If anyone can encapsulate the human experience through music, it’s Siffre.

Whilst specific dates are yet to be confirmed, the album is expected to be released later this year.

In recent years, the band have undergone a huge transformation, as they changed their name from ‘Slaves’ to ‘SOFT PLAY’ in 2022 as they wanted to abandon the connotations that followed their previous name, and HEAVY JELLY is the first album they will release under this new name. Their new album is suggested to accommodate this change as it includes nu-metal influences. The two piece have taken to social media to express their excitement, saying that they are “proud fathers”. You can read more about their new album on mxdwn here.

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Their new album adds to their excitement for this year, as they have numerous performances lined up at festivals such as Glastonbury, Y Not, Truck festival, Tramlines, Boardmasters, Bludfest, and Victorious festival, alongside their own tour. Additionally, they are supporting Robbie Williams on Saturday 6th July at his sold out headline show at the annual BST Hyde Park. They are joining Seal, Gaz Coombes, Kate Nash, and Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape.

The tour for their new album begins in October 15th in Brighton, and takes them across the UK to Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow, Nottingham, Norwich, and London. Tickets are on sale now, with some dates already sold out. You can find any remaining tickets for the highly demanded tour here.

So far this year, they have been building up the release of their new album and released four singles at the beginning of June, ‘Everything and Nothing’, ‘Act Violently’, ‘Mirror Muscles’, and ‘Punk’s Dead’, all of which will be found on their new 11 track album, which you can pre-order in all formats here.

Since the duo’s formation in 2012 on a residential street in Stoke-on-Trent, they have been on an extremely wild journey, with Isaac, the vocalist and drummer, having personal issues in 2019, leading to their tour for their last album ‘Acts Of Fear And Love’, being cancelled. Their situation then worsened as Laurie’s partner passed away from cancer in 2020, resulting in their almost five year hiatus. However, it was the iconic Blur that reunited the pair as an opportunity to support Blur arose, and the duo began talking, and, despite not getting the gig, started making music together again, and HEAVY JELLY is the product of this journey the two have been on both together and individually. The two are now stronger than ever, calling themselves “brothers” when talking to Kerrang!.