Momoko Gill Steps Into the Spotlight with Her Fearless Debut Album Momoko

Strut presents Momoko, the debut solo album from producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Momoko Gill, released February 13. Fresh from the widely praised collaborative album Clay with cult electronic artist Matthew Herbert, Gill now emerges fully in her own right, unveiling a striking and deeply personal body of work led by the pulsating single “No Others” and the electrifying, uncompromising “When Palestine Is Free.”

Long regarded as one of the UK’s best-kept secrets across electronic and jazz circles, Gill is a self-taught drummer, producer, songwriter, and vocalist whose fingerprints can be found on collaborations with Alabaster DePlume, Matthew Herbert, Coby Sey, Tirzah, and Nadeem Din-Gabisi, her creative counterpart in An Alien Called Harmony. Years of touring—behind the drum kit, at the keys, and fronting performances—have sharpened her instincts as both composer and producer, culminating in a debut that feels assured, expansive, and unmistakably her own.

Among the album’s most affecting moments is “Heavy,” released February 15, a lush and harmonically rich track where Gill’s vocals take center stage. Built around her jazz-leaning electronic production, the song unfolds with gently meandering harmonies, intricate flute lines from Tamar Osborn, and resonant harp textures by Marysia Osu. Dedicated to Gill’s close friend Matt Gordon (Pie Eye Collective), “Heavy” began as an attempt to express gratitude toward the people who make space for love and vulnerability. As Gill reflects, the song became inseparable from Gordon’s presence, allowing her to hold grief and gratitude at once, a duality that resonates throughout the album.

With Momoko, Gill presents an artistic statement shaped by instinct rather than tradition. Drawing equally from jazz, singer-songwriting, experimental music, and electronic production, she resists imitation in favor of emotional clarity and expressive freedom. Based in London and having grown up between Japan and the United States, Gill channels a broad, global perspective into her storytelling, shaped through collaboration and solitary study alike.

Across eleven tracks, the album moves fluidly through contrasting moods and textures. “No Others” showcases Gill’s jazz foundation, with bass-led momentum giving way to lush, danceable instrumentation and layered harmonic vocals. “Heavy” offers reflective warmth, while “Shadowboxing” confronts with darker, more abrasive tones before dissolving into the eerie, left-field instrumental “Test A Small Area.” Elsewhere, the deeply personal and poetic “When Palestine Is Free” stands as the album’s emotional and political centerpiece, featuring an extraordinary lineup including Shabaka Hutchings, Soweto Kinch, Alabaster DePlume, Rozi Plain, Coby Sey, Marysia Osu, and Matthew Herbert, alongside a 50-person choir. The track articulates Gill’s urgent call to confront colonial violence, racism, and systemic oppression, renewing a collective commitment to resist wherever it appears.

To mark the album’s release, Momoko Gill will perform her debut full-band headline show at London’s Jazz Café on February 13, followed by in-store performances at Rough Trade East on February 14 and Banquet Records on February 18. Momoko was produced by Gill herself, recorded at Total Refreshment Centre, mixed by Matthew Herbert, and mastered by Alex Gordon at Abbey Road Studios, bringing a powerful debut into sharp, resonant focus.