Joshua Idehen

Joshua Idehen

Presented by Emerged Agency
16.03.2026 Cologne, Veedel Club
Admission: 19:00 | Start: 20:00

Lately it seems like the world is caught in an endless cycle of bad news. Joshua Idehen doesn't pretend that this isn't the case - but on his new album "I Know You're Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try", the spoken word artist creates a phenomenal sonic, poetic space. The album (out March 6, 2026), which he co-produced with his creative partner, musician Ludvig Parment, is an urgent but transcendent collection that will see you through anything and is full of sadness, euphoria and hope.

"I Know You're Hurting..." follows Idehen's viral track "Mum Does The Washing," an ironic and perceptive poem that grapples with the way the world works (and originally started as a Twitter thread) and is set to Parment's spacious beats. The song catapulted the duo beyond Idehen's wildest dreams last year. With support from Jamz Supernova and Huw Stephens, sold-out shows and well-attended festival appearances followed, including big crowds at Glastonbury and Green Man, an appearance on 'Later with Jools' and a support tour with Baxter Dury this winter. It's all very special for Idehen as it marks a new era in his career after around two decades as a lyricist. "In short, the song changed my life," he says.

British-born Nigerian Idehen had been more interested in the medium of film in his youth. In fact, he didn't like poetry at all when he was studying at Hackney Community College and working in a West End bar. But when he came home from work one night and turned on Channel U, he was struck by Dizzee Rascal's "Vexed". "It put me in a trance, this kind of first-person rant, this stream-of-consciousness monologue, whatever you want to call it - but it sounds like he's just letting it all out, pouring into the void." And so Idehen began to write, and after years of open mic nights and new contacts, he became a name to know on the London poetry scene.

Inspired by fellow poet Scroobius Pip, he quickly became interested in setting his poems to music and as a result collaborated with bands such as LV, Benin City and Calabashed, alongside guest spots with Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming. Touring with these bands and "swirling around the UK jazz scene" helped boost Idehen's confidence as a live performer in the late 2010s - but at the same time he was experiencing turbulence in his personal life, including his divorce and several suicide attempts afterwards. The Covid-19 pandemic began and Idehen moved to Stockholm, where he had the space to process all that was happening in his life.

"The calm and serenity of Stockholm was exactly what I needed at the time," he explains. "It helped me to see myself as a whole. I was tired of being sad and ashamed, of mourning the past and my previous life and feeling like the bad guy in my own life. My daughter was born and I got to a point where I didn't just want to make sad music anymore. I didn't want to just make music where I felt sorry for myself or felt sorry for the world."

So Idehen began to think about combining his poems with something more uplifting: dance music, to be precise. "In the end, there has to be light, something to hold on to," he says. Around this time, an old friend he had met in London, Parment - also known as producer Saturday, Monday - got in touch. The two began an exchange about

What eventually became "Don't You Give Up On Me", a single that eventually became the opening song of their 2023 mixtape "Learn to Swim". For Parment, writing separately and then giving each other feedback was a fruitful collaboration: "I would say we have a sort of sibling relationship ... or are like an old married couple, as some say. We're very direct and not afraid to fight for our creative ideas, but at the same time we really listen to each other and have no problem being wrong sometimes. I love it because I can always pursue my ideas, but I know there's a guardrail if I stray - and I think that goes both ways."

And so Idehen began to think about combining his poems with something more uplifting: dance music, to be precise. "In the end, there has to be light, something to hold on to," he says. At this time, an old friend he had met in London, Parment - also known as producer Saturday, Monday - got in touch. The two began an exchange on what would later become "Don't You Give Up On Me", a single that eventually became the opening track of their 2023 mixtape "Learn to Swim". For Parment, writing separately and then giving each other feedback was a fruitful collaboration: "I would say we have a sort of sibling relationship ... or are like an old married couple, as some say. We're very direct and not afraid to fight for our creative ideas, but at the same time we really listen to each other and have no problem being wrong sometimes. I love it because I can always pursue my ideas, but I know there's a guardrail if I stray - and I think that goes both ways."

Idehen compares their collaborative work to Sade: the band's name may be Joshua Idehen, but they write the songs as a duo. This symbiotic collaboration continued on "I Know You're Hurting...," an album that looks both inward and outward for redemption, trying to capture and hold onto the sometimes fleeting moments of positivity and asserting that better times must come. As they began to perform with the new music, they realized more clearly the direction they needed to take.

"When we started working together, we had some idea of what message we wanted to get across and what inspirations we wanted to use, but we didn't have a clear idea of how it would be received," Parment explains. "But when we started the tour, we learned a lot about the project; we realized that we prefer a standing audience to a seated one and that we want to make them dance at some point. So for me it was important to make music that has depth and fits the themes of Joshua's lyrics - but is still danceable."

Throughout the album, that means uplifting choruses, cozy samples and exuberant, sometimes house-inspired beats. "Personally, I'm drawn to music that transports you to a place, a scene or a certain mood," says Parment. Added to this are thoughtful reflections on morality and interpersonal relationships, on the enduring loves in life - such as friendships and family - that give us stability. These come from Idehen and Parment as well as a number of friends and contributors, including authors Leone Ross and Charlotte Manning and singer Amanda Bergman, who help to deepen the album's themes without sounding preachy. There are also musical guests such as saxophonist Pete Fraser and Shabaka Hutchings on flute, who add a rich warmth to the album.

From the opening track "You Wanna Dance Or What?" there are poignant stories of the possibilities of human connection - here the memory of a stranger approaching Joshua when he was feeling down in a Leicester Square club - underpinned by Parment's liberating beats. There are memories of sunrises on Hampstead Heath ("It Always Was"), paeans to the liturgical power of the club ("This Is The Place") and affirmations that have kept Idehen afloat during a particularly dark time ("Brother"), all peppered with his observations and notes from past conversations with people from all walks of life. On Choose Yourself, Idehen is less interested in the kitschy self-care with bath bombs that has dominated the discourse in recent years, and more interested in boosting self-confidence and self-esteem - without ever getting too maudlin (see lines like "Choose a balanced diet/Eat the rich!"). Everything Everywhere All At Once is a breathtaking exploration of the fated moments of our lives, a contemplation of all the universes that exist within his daughter, followed by a choral reprise singing a melody composed by Idehen. "I'm not confident in singing or songwriting, so I had tears in my eyes when the choir sang something I had composed and brought it back to me."

After years of honing his craft, Joshua Idehen's pen reaches the next level with "I Know You're Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try". It's a work that is truly captivating - but at the same time, thanks to Parment's soundscapes, often makes you want to throw your arms in the air and dance. In these bleak times that are driving us all further apart, it's a beautiful, powerful manifesto for hope and collectivism. As Joshua puts it, "It is likely that we are sowing seeds that we will not live to see the harvest of ... but the sowing is good. Sowing is just as important as watering, nurturing and harvesting. We must all do our part so that we can find salvation."