New Jazz Picks

Lyberarchelulo - WyndSpring (Self Release) + ØKSE - ØKSE ( Backwoodz)

After starting to explore the world of jazz a bit more seriously around '95, I quickly started to catch up on what had been happening in the last forty years, and at the same time immersed myself in London's Nu-Jazz heyday. It was a heady time for the forward looking black music lover. Monday nights at Bar Rumba for Gilles Peterson's weekly, The Jazz Cafe in Camden under Adrian Gibson’s stewardship, Plastic People in Shoreditch and Sunday nights at Brixton's Bug Bar were all regular haunts; places where classic jazz dance and rare groove rubbed shoulders with beat science and the deepest house, the sounds of Brazil were never far away and Fela said hello to underground hip hop. It was a fine time to be alive.

Roll on 30 years and if I'm in the mood for a classic jazz moment I'll generally, with a few notable new millennial exceptions, dig out my old Flying Dutchman or Impulse albums rather than listen to artists trying to replicate the sounds of the greats and a long gone golden era. If it's new I want Generation Y twists, golden age of fusion blends and electronic experimentation.

I stumbled across Lyberachelulo a couple of years ago when he released his Train Chimes Climb the Attic Charter album, which somehow managed to join the dots between field recording rich ambient jazz and the snappily entitled monster groove - "Collapsed Castle in the Woods with Flying Saucers", which I had on repeat for weeks. Well last week he dropped WyndSpring, his sophomore LP and I'm happy to report it's similarly adventurous and just as well crafted.

A rudimentary bamboo marimba made by director of operations Andrew Gibbens is the thread that ties the tracks together. Gibbens then kicked things off by recording a plethora of percussion, alongside Rhodes and bass, in response to the sustained winds blowing through East Tennessee - now there's a conductor. He then enlisted some familiar names from the debut alongside some new recruits to flesh out his framework. The ensuing meteorological jazz joys stretch from gusting spaced out jazz rock all the way to becalmed, folkier, new age cloud gazers; largely eschewing grooviness for a more whimsical low gravity approach to better catch the air currents. Start at the start and get off at the last stop.

Next up is ØKSE who I only stumbled across last week but I’m already looking forward to their sophomore. It's an international crew: NYC based drummer Savannah Harris, Danish saxophonist Mette Rasmussen, Haitian electronic musician Val Jeanty, and Swede Petter Eldh on bass, synths and sampler - rear view mirror gazing this isn't; hard grooving it certainly is. This is take no prisoners, railing against the machine, hard out progressive jazz that sweats through through the speakers, if they rock up at a venue near you get your ticket early.

If that wasn't enough they've invited four rappers - ELUCID, billy woods, Maassai and Cavalier along for the ride, and whoever handed out the invites knows their shit or lives in Brooklyn. All of them have the swagger and personality to ride the bumpin beats, clattering drums &  jazz-punk attitude. Even when Maassai has a more soulful moment the band don't give her an easy ride, it's just not that sort of LP.

TSMM is usually more chilling than illing, but if you've let your digital detox slip, doom scrolled one depressing headline too many and find yourself sick to the teeth of the handful of rich and powerful men swinging their tiny dicks about and making life unpleasant for everyone else, then switch off your phone, hit play on this LP and let it all out. The ambient escapism and Balearic balminess will be here waiting for you tomorrow.

Playlist Action

If you these two don’t keep you busy then head over to the Slow Jazz Playlist for generally more forward looking, independent jazz eclecticism.