The hypnotic nature of dance music is something keyboardist/composer Bill Laurance has explored on his two previous albums, Flint and Swift, albeit in far more defined and orchestrated settings. This groove-led creative space, where riffs and textures stretch out beyond the horizon, is something largely ignored in the choppy, chops-obsessed structures of much contemporary jazz. Thus Aftersun focuses on the hips as well as the head with stunning results. Brilliantly recorded by engineer Matt Grondin in the swampy heat of New Orleans there’s a euphoric often celebratory ambience permeating each tune as Laurance rejects flighty technical workouts, instead creating a deep, authentically rich sonic world of analogue synths, Rhodes, Hammond organ and clavs, which blaze gloriously on the anthemic haze of the title- track. Having only written half the material for this album prior to the nine-day recording session, there’s plenty of improvisational chutzpah from the keyboardist and his road-toughened rhythm section of bassist Michael League and drummer Robert ‘Sput’ Searight, who forge fiery yet intricately evolving bass and drum parts, such as the snarling Afrobeat- electro-funk opener ‘Soti’, and the dizzy distortion-dub of ‘A Blaze’, with Laurance channeling his inner Hendrix and finding crunchily convincing results. There are reflective acoustic moments too, ‘Golden Hour’ showing Laurance’s command of mood and dynamics while ‘Madeleine’ is pensively propulsive, but it’s the slinky acoustic jazz vibe of ‘The Pines’, fuelled by League’s infinitely swinging bass groove, which inspires Laurance to reel off his most expansive piano solo. This subtly impressive set is capped off by Ghanaian percussionist Weedie Braimah’s cowbells, timbales, congas and shakers that course through the album’s veins, adding that magical extra spice to this bubbling intoxicating brew. Singular genres are increasingly problematic today especially when the likes of Bill Laurance so successfully unite so many into a new, highly personalised whole. So stop thinking and start dancing.