London jazz wizard Shabaka Hutchings: Sons of Kemet / The Comet Is Coming / Shabaka & the Ancestors

also new orleans brass band music and ethio-jazz in there

sons of kemet is playing here in the next month or so, i'm thinking about it but though i love everything else i've heard by shabaka sons of kemet didn't grab me, maybe i should give it another shot

ooh Doug Fir Lounge, there's usually really good sound in that venue fwiw

on a Monday though :(

yeah that doesn't help either. the beths are playing the doug fir next monday, i'm considering it (but probably won't go).

Taking my wife and father-in-law (who haven't heard them) to the Seattle show next weekend. So psyched!

Hmmmm, wonder if the DC show is sold out Thursday

The interweaving of different influences almost feels like it should be a bit too on the nose - in the abstract you could make comparisons to all of those live dub bands (oddly, often from New Zealand) from about 15 years ago like Salmonella Dub, who would weave in elements of drum and bass and dancehall and so on and could fall prey to a kind of united colours of benetton international rootsical vibes well-meaning wash-out. But the execution here is so astoundingly good, so consistently captivating, that it totally escapes that aura.

I've not heard the bands you're talking about but I can well imagine, every country with a festival circuit has a few of them*. I think one reason why that doesn't happen here is because they're not so much interweaving styles as as exploring the space between them, unearthing the common ground.

When I talk about dancehall or grime turning up in the music I'm talking about elements of phrasing and rhythm that a listener who wasn't into those genres might not even notice, rather than overt sonic imprints. 3mins 55 into 'My Queen Is Harriet Tubman' for example, but there are plenty of occasions where he slips from playing like a jazz saxophonist to playing like a rave MC, and I'm sure it's deliberate. (45mins 25 into My Queen is Angela Davis, that's another one).

The one with Congo Natty is the only track where you can go "ah, they're doing x now". But when you get him on a track you're putting up a big signpost whatever.

Not to mention the fact that the music is so tied up with ideas of resistance (specifically black female resistance) that something would have to be going very wrong for it to give off the kind of vibe you're talking about.

*I'm imagining some kind of jazz Roni Size meets Dreadzone type thing which is probably worse than anything you're talking about here.

saw SoK in Istanbul a few years back, party was rockin

Is there a wider thread for the current London jazz scene? Recent releases from Nerija, Joe Armon-Jones and Moses Boyd have been fantastic.

a listener who wasn't into those genres might not even notice

this is me! I'll take your word for it. I can definitely tell that there's a lot of non-trad jazz phrasing going on

I listened to the Shabaka and the Ancestors album this morning, for the first time in a few months. There's so much going on in there - there's jazz, gospel, some dub effects, songs in African languages, but it all works together as a whole. I love it.

super awesome that acid jazz is back in style, i’m stoked

:-D

is this an acid hat?

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3898/14820073938_45db64a74e_b.jpg

word to that hat!!

"Recent releases from Nerija, Joe Armon-Jones and Moses Boyd have been fantastic."

Alive In The East is such a good album, sick drummer!

spiritual hat

Huh, I should probably go see them for free at the university on Thursday

I was looking forward to seeing them at Koko, Camden and thought it was significant Sons had managed to get into such a big venue. But it seems Koko's been closed for "structural issues" - sounds fairly serious. I guess it'll be moved.

Shabaka appears on 2 tracks on the debut album by South African jazz group Mabuta, which is out today:

https://mabuta.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-this-world

Saw Sons of Kemet this past Thursday in a small basement club in Washington DC. Wow, a ferocious sound attack from the sax and tuba, and then the 2 drummers with the galloping, drum & bass beats. The songs often started tunefully and then got a bit more out there via the horns shrieking more at the end of each number (but the drum rhythms helped keep it from just going into free jazz improv territory).

I listened to the Shabaka and the Ancestors album this morning, for the first time in a few months. There's so much going on in there - there's jazz, gospel, some dub effects, songs in African languages, but it all works together as a whole. I love it.

― grawlix (unperson), Thursday, September 27, 2018 11:15 AM (six days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I finally got around to listening to this and it is incredible. Spiritual hat aficionados will especially be into it.

And if you like it, do check out albums by Nduduzo Makhathini, the keyboardist (and occasional vocalist) from the band. He's doing terrific work that's not getting much attention outside South Africa, as far as I know. I wish a US label would pick up his music for distribution.

any recommendation on which Makhathini album to start with?

btw, I listened to your podcast with Hutchings, Ahmed, and Garcia--great interview! and now I need to follow up on both of them too

His most recent one, Ikhambi, is the one I'm most familiar with. It's on Spotify (in the US, anyway):

https://open.spotify.com/album/7aonkfRAyRNSHKIpfyi2Jm?si=G_lSyubMRHWo4V9HoHMMvQ

His whole catalog is up there, in fact.

Went to the show last night and they were great, very danceable.

Also struck me how close some of this music is to Masada, at the end of the night I realized I had this tune in my head:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzIzSXnpwP0

I like the tuba player a lot, but I can't help compare all tuba players to New Orleans guys and Youngbl00d Brass Band, and then I feel like a snob. But he said that Nat from YBB was his main inspiration, so I no longer felt bad.

Saw them on Friday, holy shit that was like a top ten of all time show (not that I would or could ever consider making such a list). From the records I hadn't even registered there were two drummers; incredible energy from them, no gaps between songs and they took one break in a 90 minute set.

the drum rhythms helped keep it from just going into free jazz improv territory

u+k imo.

just listening to Maisha's There Is a Place album .. nice!

I'm losing count of all the top albums coming out of London this year.

The Maisha album is fantastic - gonna write about it for Stereogum for sure.

that looks great (beautiful cover too).

as briefly mentioned by upper mississippi shakedown and me on the rolling jazz thread, Shabaka and a couple other Londoners play on the new Makaya McCraven album Universal Beings, which I would highly recommend

Emanative's Earth is another good one, this lot are not pissing about at the moment.

only heard the first SoK record but I was pretty fascinated by the way it almost had this dub-like sound to it. it felt like there was some element missing...another horn, guitar, something. idk anything about jazz though. definitely a very good record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nk9P3eO4p0

on a big shabaka kick lately, has he really released no solo material? this performance leaves me so hungry

I listened to The Comet Is Coming record last week after playing Sons of Kemet to death and it just feels a little tepid in comparison? I was expecting crazy space jazz but it was all a bit safe, a bit Caribou, without the fire of Your Queen Is A Reptile.

Given all that what's the best place to go next?

maisha's there is a place is v good.

Well worth checking the Makaya McCraven stuff - albeit Shabaka is only a guest on a few tracks. Universal Beings is quite a thing.

has he really released no solo material?

There's a fanastic track on the We Out Here complition credited to solo Shabaka. His work with Sarathy Korwar is worth a listen too. (As is SK's own stuff.)

There's a new The Comet Is Coming due in March - I haven't heard the whole thing, because like Matt DC I feel like TCIC is the weakest of all Hutchings' projects.

Bought the two Emanative full-lengths on Bandcamp today, thanks for the recommendation upthread.

Yeah my initial enthusiasm for TCIC cooled pretty quickly--it's not bad but there are fewer ideas than in his other groups. The SoK and Ancestors albums are much better.

I've been digging the A.R.E. Project record with hieroglyphic being and sarathy korwar lately, that's pretty out there, tabla & sax cosmic and pounding house bliss that in some moments sounds a bit like GAS and in most other moments very much does not. although the hectic riffage in parts of your queen is a reptile is what initially hooked me I think some of the slightly more restrained/less immediate pieces on that are gorgeous. I know the black skin, black masks track & it's great but I'd love some proper solo stuff like in that live video where he's like a more expansive and nimble colin stetson, it's just gorgeous and I guess I love solo performers more than most. following him around is a good way of getting into all sorts of stuff though, the lad really gets about! a proper hodologist.

finally got around to ordering We Out Here. p great, not sure what I like the best on it. There's one showy electric guitar-led track that I def am not into

New Theon Cross (tuba player in SoK) album sounds promising: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/theon-cross-fyah/
Anyone here heard the whole thing yet? (unperson?)

Yeah, it's great. He's got a 2015 EP with the same lineup that's also really good.

three tracks available for listening here:

https://theoncross.bandcamp.com/album/fyah

That's good to hear.
Thanks for the link sleeve, bandcamp's architecture sometimes confuses me. However, now I'm distracted by this great Moses Boyd single linked to in Beta's review: https://mosesboyd.bandcamp.com/album/rye-lane-shuffle-single. And I see he put out a whole album last year--this scene might actually be too productive lol

The Comet is Coming is...coming to St. Paul this summer and while it's not my first choice of his projects in these sometimes jazz starved parts I'm pretty excited to see him

That Moses Boyd single now sells for £££. It's seen as a bit of a landmark.

As one door closes, another opens

Tour started last night. They're phenomenal live, so if they're in your neighborhood and you're feeling good about going to shows, definitely do it.

Fri, SEP 30 The Crocodile Seattle, WA
Sat, OCT 1 Revolution Hall Portland, OR
Mon, OCT 3 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Tue, OCT 4 The Independent San Francisco, CA
Wed, OCT 5 El Rey Theatre Los Angeles, CA
Thu, OCT 13 Thalia Hall Chicago, IL
Fri, OCT 14 The Axis Club Theatre Toronto, Canada
Sat, OCT 15 Le National Montreal, Canada
Tue, OCT 18 Crystal Ballroom Somerville, MA
Wed, OCT 19 Underground Arts Philadelphia, PA
Thu, OCT 20 Union Stage Washington, DC
Fri, OCT 21 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Sat, OCT 22 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
Wed, NOV 2 Tama Poznań, Poland
Thu, NOV 3 Zaklęte Rewiry Wrocław, Poland
Fri, NOV 4 Hype Park Kraków, Poland
Sat, NOV 5 Praga Centrum Warszawa, Poland
Sun, NOV 6 Pitchfork Music Festival Berlin 2022
Tue, NOV 8 Alte Feuerwache - Halle Mannheim, Germany
Wed, NOV 9 E-Werk - Clubbühne Erlangen, Germany
Thu, NOV 10 MEETFACTORY Prague, Czech Republic
Fri, NOV 11 Transcentury Update 2022 Leipzig, Germany
Wed, NOV 16 La Gaîté Lyrique Paris, France
Thu, NOV 17 L'Aéronef Lille, France
Fri, NOV 18 Babylon Istanbul, Turkey
Sat, NOV 19 Pavillon Hannover, Germany
Thu, DEC 1 Ｓｈｉｂｕｙａ　ＷＷＷ 渋谷区, 日本
Fri, DEC 2 Ｓｈｉｂｕｙａ　ＷＷＷ 渋谷区, 日本
Sat, DEC 3 Live House Anima Osaka, Japan
Thu, DEC 8 Oxford Art Factory Sydney, Australia
Fri, DEC 9 Meredith Music Festival 2022 Meredith, Australia
Sat, DEC 10 Corner Hotel Richmond, Australia

Unsurprising if reactionary ol' ILM turns against TCIC just as they go imagocore tbh. That chord flourish near the end of The Hammer is so me, you must be disgusted

Yeah wasn't sure what to make of EDM jazz at first but it's really clicking. "Angel of Darkness" is especially a standout.

Yeah that song is SO sick, reminds me of Ex Eye, the Colin Stetson post-metal thing from a few years ago

Ha didn't know you were a fan - Ex Eye was great.

Really confused, are we all using EDM as a term for dance music in general now? Or does the new Comet Is Coming truly sound like the Chainsmokers?

There is flashy, poppy techno in this jazz, and I am here for it

Spaced out where SoK is earthy, The Comet Is Coming's "Channel the Spirits" starts off sounding kind of like an update on "Lawrence of Newark," but touches down in a thumping dance club towards the end.

― rob, Wednesday, September 26, 2018 5:06 PM (four years ago)

^from my opening post. This isn't a departure or anything, it's a core element of their sound and hardly represents some turn to "imagocore," whatever that could possibly mean smh.

They used to be noisier and more "out"; they've definitely moved further in the direction of synthwave and 80s retro on this album (and to a lesser degree on the LP and EP before it).

True, I don't think they've been static, and I'd have to listen to them all again to discern the trajectory. But the dance music element was a big part of CtS.

I'm more than happy to think of "imagocore" as 80s retro, excellent

oh no

do feel like there's a certain flashy balance of pop, prog, avant-garde noise and melodic grandstanding that constitutes a Sweet Spot, and that this album locks onto it to an extent

yeah fair enough, please just do not call me "reactionary" though ;)

EOY season preparations seem to get earlier every year

New album is terrific

"Angel of Darkness" is a massive track.

Unsurprising if reactionary ol' ILM turns against TCIC just as they go imagocore tbh. That chord flourish near the end of The Hammer is so me, you must be disgusted

― imago, Saturday, October 1, 2022 8:18 AM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

yes we reactionaries want a return to the classic oscar peterson-style coffee shop be-bop of earlier the comet is coming!

the first song reminded me of a song that would be in the bourne identity soundtrack with sax

lol sorry, that was quite boorish in retrospect. but I really think the new album is an exciting leap into...something

it's not grabbing me at first but he's a great artist and i'll definitely keep giving it a go

The ARE Prject EP that he did with Hieroglyphic Being and Sarathy Korwar is my favorite thing he’s been a part of— could listen to that record on a loop, and in fact, I have done so for hours at a time

table otm

I had to stop the new Comet, forget the idea that it's jazz, put it back on, and it works much better now. I have no idea what synthwave is but I could picture this in a video game all right.

This is what I mean! Come over to my side, we have fat breakdowns

Synthwave is just a term for Carpenter obsessed synth soundtrack stuff.

If it is that then it def can't also be EDM.

Gonna go listen to the damn album now and find it.

*out

I'm on "Frequency" and the groove is quite formidable, it's very much ethno porn sax skronk but I don't mind. The developments and sonic contrast with the synths and beats are... incongruous and funny ? It's the first album in a while that seems to have a sense of humor and make me want to laugh. It's a rather strange mix of subversive and meditative, but I can take it as it is.

Comet would have been great at Megadog

The genre of TCIC is "music that kicks ass" I think.

Had the pleasure of seeing them live this week and they were incredible.

incredible live band

New record is pretty great in my book. John Carpenter + skronky sax sounds good to me.

a concert this coming Tuesday that might be of interest to Londoners, with sets from three Native Rebel artists, Shabaka Hutchings’ record label:

https://earthackney.co.uk/events/native-rebel-recordings-the-brother-moves-on-chelsea-carmichael-con-kwake-15-11-2022/

mentioning it because I saw The Brother Moves On from Johannesburg in Amsterdam last night and they were awesome. I only knew their “You Think You Know Me” from last year because it was nominated in Tom Ewing’s EOY Twitter poll. great track, but not very representative (and they didn’t play it).

they performed as a five-piece band (guitar, bass, drums and two saxophonists/flutists) plus wonderful frontman/vocalist Siyabonga Mthembu.
there’s a lot of jazz in what they do, but (to my ears at least) it’s local SA genres at the heart of it all. their Wikipedia entry mentions “maskandi rock” (and “ninja gospel” fwiw).

listening to their recent album right now, and I’m enjoying it, but it can’t hold a candle to the live performance. go see them live if you can.

I guess I might add that they somehow manage to be intense and fun at the same time

He killed it. Never heard anyone who can turn on a dime like this guy.

Dude what

https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/shabaka-hutchings-presents-john-coltranes-hackney-church-tickets/13648158

This will be Shabaka’s final performance on the saxophone before he takes a hiatus from the instrument.

Have folks heard the Kofi Flexxx record? He's not attaching his name to it but it's pretty definitely him and has guest vocals from billy woods, ELUCID, and Siyabonga Mthembu (from Shabaka and the Ancestors), among others.

https://kofiflexxx.bandcamp.com/album/flowers-in-the-dark

^I missed the memo on Kofi Flexxx, will have to check that out

I was a bit wary going in as Afrikan Culture never hooked me, but Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is brilliant and a significant departure from the solo EP to my ears. Ultimately I don't love the sound of the flute as much as Shabaka does, but there's a thoughtful and thought through, compelling, at times witchy or eerie quality to this album that the more new age-y peer comparisons lack. And it goes in some unexpected directions: the first half of the track with Laraaji and Floating points reminded me of something you might hear on Ghost Box, and a couple other moments also had a UK folk revival vibe (e.g., Living).

I interviewed him for Stereogum about the new record, breaking up all his bands, etc., etc. It was a really interesting conversation.

yeah, that's a great piece unperson