Toronto native Jahmal Padmore is a singer/songwriter and drummer whose deeply contemplative R&B ballads are self-critical more often than celebratory. He first appeared during the late 2000s as a member of the Carps, leading to numerous temporary collaborations and close connections. He made his solo debut in 2021 with a series of expressive vignettes, and in 2022 released Esparonto, his song-oriented first album for the Telephone Explosion label.

Padmore started beat programming as a youngster before he took up drums and guitar, learning how to play the latter instrument from the youth pastor at his church in his native Scarborough. In the late 2000s, known as Jahmal Tonge, he was one-half of the Carps, a highly energetic rock duo that released two EPs. When the Carps split, Padmore temporarily played drums with Thunderheist and MSTRKRFT — he was featured on the latter’s 2009 album Fist of God — and moved to New York. Within a few years, Padmore was back in Toronto, refocusing his energy on music, leading a project he dubbed Miracles while juggling other recording projects with artists such as Just John, Keita Juma, and Brendan Philip.

It wasn’t until January 2021 that Padmore self-released his first solo single. A moody, minute-long tune titled “Add99” marked his low-profile debut. Eleven additional tracks of similar length arrived at a fairly steady (sometimes weekly) rate through that March. Despite their brevity, they were more substantial than interludes, ethereal if emotive pieces — some with vocals, others without — mixing left-of-center R&B and dream pop. Padmore caught the attention of the Toronto-based Telephone Explosion, and the next March, he resurfaced on the label with “Pretty,” a more traditionally structured song of self-examination. Later in the month, “Pretty” and nine other progressive R&B songs found their way onto Esparonto, Padmore’s first solo album.