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

Shirley Tetteh, Maisha's guitarist is so so good.

She gradually takes over the second half of “The Stank” with a very cool solo, having ticked away in the background during the first half. Such a funky track.

She also plays on recent SEED ensemble and Yazz Ahmed albums.

I interviewed her last year for Bandcamp.

(I just ordered physical copies of the Nérija, Maisha, and Seed Ensemble albums this morning, too.)

She’s great on the Nerija album, isn’t she - there’s a standout solo on “Equanimous”, for instance. I’m gonna revisit the Yazz Ahmed later today.

Ok so this guy's music is amazing

Thanks for the tip on that Nerija album. I just got it on vinyl and it kills, EU especially.

Soul Jazz Records is putting out a 2CD/3LP compilation of new UK jazz called Kaleidoscope - New Spirits Known & Unknown on July 17.

Soul Jazz Records’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ brings together many of the ground-breaking artists involved in the new jazz scene that has developed in the UK over the last few years. Featured artists include Matthew Halsall, Yazmin Lacey, Ill Considered, Tenderlonious, Theon Cross, Emma-Jean Thackray and many, many more in this ground-breaking release.

As well as sharing a pioneering spirit in these new artists’ approach to frontier-crossing musical boundaries, a further theme of this album is that many also share a determination to independent practices - and most of these artists’ recordings featured here are either self-published or released on independent labels. While the attention of this new wave of jazz artists has up until now has been London-based, this album shows how this movement is spread across the whole of Britain (and indeed beyond).

‘Kaleidoscope – New Spirits Known and Unknown’ shows that while there is commonality in these artists approach to music, there is a wide variety of styles – from deep spiritual jazz, electronic experimentalisation, punk-edged funk, uplifting modal righteousness, deep soulful vocals and much more.

Soul Jazz Records’ new release comes as a superb one-off pressing special deluxe triple album edition which comes with a bonus limited-edition one-off pressing 7" single, a standard triple album, and a deluxe double CD pack. This album also comes with extensive sleevenotes, artist interviews and exclusive photography.

Track listing:

Tracklisting
1. Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra – When The World Was One
2. Yazmin Lacey – 90 Degrees
3. Hector Plimmer – Communication Control
4. Ill Considered – Long Way Home (Live At The Crypt)
5. The Expansions – Mosaic
6. Chip Wickham – Red Planet
7. Levitation Orchestra – Odyssey
8. Emma-Jean Thackray – Walrus
9. Tenderlonious and The 22archestra – The Shakedown
10. Pokus – Pokus One
11. Theon Cross – Candace Of Meroe
12. Joe Armon-Jones & Maxwell Owin – Tanner's Tango
13. Collocutor – Gozo
14. Makaya McCraven – Untitled
15. Nat Birchall – Ancient World
16. Ruby Rushton – Moonlight Woman
17. Ebi Soda – Dimmsdale
18. The Cromagnon Band – Thunder Perfect
19. SEED Ensemble – Mirrors
20. Ishmael Ensemble – Kito's Theme
21. Vels Trio – Yellow Ochre (Part 1)

that looks great - excited to hear it

Weird that Lunch Money Life isn't on there-- I really like their newest record

The newest side project/collaborative release from Danalogue is pretty sharp:

https://danalogue.bandcamp.com/album/i-was-not-sleeping

Sounds pretty great, thanks Ned.

yeah, digging this

New one is real nice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZUbNXhnSm4

He was part of the Pop Conference today ( but I missed it)

that new track hits the spot

that album is going to kill!

Yeah this is excellent. To see these guys at a place like SOB's would be so amazing.

I only scratched the surface of Sons of Kermet and the rest of this scene up till now, but I love both the recent singles a lot.

it's finally here! 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

this is an amazing ear enema following listening to st vincent. going to be playing it a lot this year.

lol first time I've seen enema deployed as a positive metaphor

hahaha this is more like an ear candle anyway, fire emojis otm

I've had to put on some quite dry and tediously enthralling neo-classical chamber jazz improv to calm myself down after all the excitement of blasting this one out earlier. Probably more like an ear enema!

lol we're 2/3 of the way to a terrible thread idea here

kinda shocked about how well d double e does on his feature here lol

God wtf why is this not on Bandcamp, why do these artists insist on doing this to people.

I think it's an Impulse thing, they aren't on bandcamp at all. Some of the older Hutchings stuff on different labels is though.

Btw, I agree! Disappointed to see this wasn't on there either, just clarifying that I think it's a label decision, not the artist in this case.

the digital album is available directly from impulse

Yeah, and I've bought it only to be sent a link to just the album art.

If labels are going to pull this shit, they need to do it right.

Ngl, I've already opened a complaint with Paypal over it. It would be like me paying full price for a record that comes out today, only to be handed the sleeve with no vinyl inside.

UMG can kiss my ass.

yeah that's fucked up

I saw that there is an article in the new Mojo on this scene but haven't seen the new edition yet to see what that article contains.

Shabaka is guesting on today's BBC 6Music Jamz Supernova show (1300-1400 UK time) - which is as good an excuse as any to bang on again about my current favourite show on the radio.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w4jz

Sons of Kemet Jazz saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings talks through the influences behind his new album Black To The Future, This album begins and ends with powerful lyrical and musical statements of rage and frustration, expressed outwardly in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the subsequent BLM protests and features guest vocalists including, Chicago bandleader/vocalist Angel Bat Dawid, American poet Moor Mother, legendary British Grime MC D Double E and British artist/rapper/spoken word musical artist Kojey Radical.

"Let the Circle Be Unbroken" is really something and then ""Envision Yourself Levitating" gently and mournfully blowing in afterwards. I'm impressed how distinct this album is from YQIAR while clearly the same collective

The new Sons of Kemet is on Bandcamp, ftr.

thank you!

gahh it was pulled from Bandcamp while it was still in my cart, wtf Impulse

The new video from the Sons of Kemet album is great:

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

There was a whole ass Soccer96 LP this year that I totally missed?

https://soccer96.bandcamp.com/album/dopamine

Update: it's really good, and much more cosmic than the post-punk EP with Alabaster dePlume (which I loved as well).

bro this honks

bro this honks

― maf you one two (maffew12), Thursday, December 23, 2021 1:02 PM (three weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

gahh it was pulled from Bandcamp while it was still in my cart, wtf Impulse

― sleeve
Yo Sleeve, hope you've got it now!
It's been back on bandcamp for a while, getting to be my Number 1:
https://sonsofkemetmusic.bandcamp.com/album/black-to-the-future

thx, I did get it eventually, I like it but it is def in like my #15-20 range

Interesting! What would you say are its limitations? Not gonna argue with you, just wondering about a different way of hearing it.

off the top of my head, I thought it was trying to do too many things at once. I like the vocals and the spoken word stuff but found that it made the record lose focus compared to Your Queen Is A Reptile which I did really love

I agree, it's a very good album but feels less focused than Queen. And some of the poetry is too ranty for repeated listening.

Preview for the new Binker (Golding) & Moses (Boyd) is unreasonably great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPZxrsS2Hp0

(And if big booming snares remind you of anyone, yep, it’s produced by Hugh Padgham)