Jazz breaking news: Sons Of Kemet go for the Burn on Naim Jazz
Thursday, May 9, 2013
One of the most talked about bands on London’s leftfield jazz scene since their formation two years ago, Sons Of Kemet release their debut album, Burn, on the Naim Jazz label on 9 September.
Led by saxophonist/clarinettist Shabaka Hutchings (pictured), with tuba virtuoso Oren Marshall and drummers Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford – plus guest guitarist Dave Okumu (of electro-rock trio The Invisible) also on the sessions – SOK whip up a bewitching brew of African, Arabic and Caribbean sounds laced with dub reggae in the vein of cult Jamaican drummer Count Ossie and his band Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, via the transcendental sax flights of Pharoah Sanders.
Conceptually the twin-drummer set-up is inspired by polyrhythmic west African drumming, creating conversational percussive layers to hypnotic effect, which hooked to Marshall’s depth-charge tuba bass lines and heady live effects and Hutchings’ scything melodic lines on top, creates a wall of head-spinning sounds. Recorded with all bandmembers in the same room the intensely meshed recording also embraces electronics and club-style beats simultaneously referencing deep diasporic African music and a highly danceable street-level energy on one of the most exciting UK albums of the year so far. See the September issue of Jazzwise for an exclusive interview with the band.
– Mike Flynn
– Photo: Tim Dickeson