Further Out Than the Edge

Speakers Corner Quartet was formed in 2006. The group derived their name from the open mic spoken word and hip-hop jam night at the Brixton Jamm nightclub where they performed as the house band.[3][7][8][1] Since forming, the group has worked with artists including Sampha, Kae Tempest, Tirzah, Dean Blunt, MF DOOM, Lianne La Havas, Mica Levi, Chris Ofili and Herbie Hancock.[7][4][9] The group consists of Alan Ross "Biscuit" Harris on flute, Giles Kwakeulati "Kwake Bass" King-Ashong on drums & percussion, Peter Bennie on bass, and Raven Bush on violin.[7][10][11]

The album began production in 2016 when Biscuit started editing recordings of the band's jam sessions, splicing, chopping, looping, and self-sampling the band's instrumentals.[7][1][12] Over the next seven years, the group worked with various London musicians that they had previously collaborated with to bring vocal performances and additional instrumentation to the album.[7][1] All vocals on the album are from guest features.[10]

On February 15, 2023, Speakers Corner Quartet released the album's first single "Can We Do This?" featuring English singer Sampha.[13][14][15] On March 22, 2023, the album's second single "Fix" featuring English singer Tirzah was released.[16][17] The album's third single, "On Grounds" featuring English singer Coby Sey, was released on April 12, 2023.[3][18] On May 3, 2023, the album's fourth single "Geronimo Blues" featuring English poet Kae Tempest was released.[19][20][21] The album's fifth single, "Soapbox Soliloquy" featuring British singer Leilah, was released on May 24, 2023.[22][23]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[24]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Observer	[8]
Clash Magazine	8/10[4]
Pitchfork	7.1/10[1]
Loud and Quiet	9/10[9]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Further Out Than The Edge received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[24]

Ammar Kalia of The Observer praised the album's instrumentation as "remarkably cohesive" with "dark, downbeat textures" that support the album's features.[8] Writing for Resident Advisor, Fred Garratt-Stanley praised the album's instrumentation as a mix of "sparse, hip-hop-speckled rhythm sections with expressive jazz melodies and flashes of abstract orchestral instrumentation."[10] He also praised the writing from the album's guest appearances for its "politically conscious storytelling, exposing social dilemmas and inequalities with clarity and grit."[10] Clash Magazine's Ana Lamond praised the album's instrumentation, writing: "Melding together the freeing elements of jazz with subtle electronics and poetry, the group’s succinct instrumentation ties everything together into one, cohesive body of work."[4] Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork describes the album as "elegant, reflective, and immaculately constructed" and "reflects the group’s open-mic origins."[1] Writing for Loud and Quiet, Dhruva Balram praised the album's production as "making each of the individual guests’ talents shine even brighter."[9]