$39.00
If there is to be a reference point for this remarkable music, then perhaps the faster tracks bring to mind the spirit of post punk innovators Rip Rig & Panic or Pigbag. Certainly opener "All Will Surely Burn" or "Inner Babylon" would not sound out of place on Dr Heckle and Mister Jive, and serve as a reminder of a distant time when the leftfield and interesting could still infiltrate the pop charts. Like those bands Sons of Kemet sound like a fantastic live act—great to hear in the sort of small club where the walls sweat and the audience is free to dance. "Going Home"'s dub effects and "Song For Galeano"'s Augustus Pablo feel show a more explicit reggae influence but never to the extent that the album could comfortably be pigeon-holed. And that, ultimately, is the great strength of the collection.
The blend of influences and innovative production lift the collection onto a higher level beyond that of simply well played, innovative, danceable jazz. Props too should go to the Naim label for their ongoing dual commitment both to sonic excellence and young British jazz that has once more borne fruit in this excellent collection. – All About Jazz
Label: Naim Jazz – naimlp201 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress, 180g |
Country: UK |
Released: 2017 |
Genre: Jazz, Folk, World, & Country |
Style: Avant-garde Jazz |
$45.00
Mobo jazz award winners Sons of Kemet’s follow-up to their 2013 debut album, Burn, features a comparable chemistry of hooky horn themes – from reeds-player Shabaka Hutchings and new tubist Theon Cross – and rapturously hip double-drumming from Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford. Their sound balances ritualistic sparseness, conversational clamour and unpredictable jazz looseness.
The languid tenor-sax vamp of In Memory of Samir Awad turns to smeary upper-tone asides over pounding drums; the initially free-jazzy Tiger gets slinkier in dialogue with the tuba; Afrofuturism mixes marching-band music, abstract sax shimmers and distant vocal chants. But there’s also a gentleness in the lyrical sway of Play Mass and the hypnotic, north African-inflected Mo’ Wiser.
Two years ago, Sons of Kemet were already blowing live audiences away and fascinating listeners on record – they do it even better now. – The Guardian
Label: Naim Jazz – naimlp218 |
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress |
Country: UK |
Released: Sep 2018 |
Style: Afrobeat |