Don’t call him a drummer. Despite being one of the best on the music scene and still “setting the tempo” for generations of musicians who look at funk, jazz, beat (with the ‘afro’ prefix in front of them), Tony Allen doesn’t fully agree when you define him as a drummer....
Interview
Articles
We left Vels Trio a few months ago, after an electrifying set during Ealing Jazz Festival, and we’ll meet them again in a few days’ time at another jazz festival in the British capital. This time, the prog and electro-jazz trio from Brighton will perform in North East London during North...
We can’t celebrate and encourage a project like Let Drum Beat enough, not simply because they are a full-female band in a man’s world (the music one), but also because, with their Afro-Brazilian-inspired sound and rhythms and positive attitude, they release such warm and heartening vibes that will inevitably end...
In a time of unrest for one of the most historic countries in the world, music and arts have kept Mali connected to its past. Bassekou Kouyate, one of the great ngoni players, answered some of our questions on his musical heritage, the power of music and what he hopes...
French-born, Ecuador-raised composer Nicola Cruz is one peculiar artist. When his first album Prender El Alma came out in 2015, many were left speechless: his intuition to blend warm, bass-fuelled, downtempo beats with traditional Andean melodies resulted in a new kind of music that spoke straight to the heart. While touring around...
The Keen brothers (Henry and Oliver) have a special affinity for music. It’s well known that family members have tight vocal harmonies, but it’s not so common to find siblings who are “well-tuned” DJs and producers and share the decks. Soundspecies are one of these rare examples. The musical journey...
Who would have thought that mixing roles, letting musicians wear the clothes of journalists, would have been so stimulating… In view of their upcoming double-bill show (at Rich Mix London on Friday 23rd November), organized by Arts Canteen and part of the 2018 edition of the EFG London Jazz Festival,...
A few days ago, we met with Trinidadian poet and writer Anthony Joseph in a coffee shop in Brixton. It was a pleasure to listen to Anthony’s stories of growing up in Trinidad, the music of calypso and soca, and what the Windrush generation means to London’s identity. Anthony also...
The hype machine is running at full speed and the infamous term (I’m sorry…) ‘UK Jazz’ is the hot topic from the global music press right now. A number of London based musicians are grabbing the moment with both hands, scoping out the distance and growing their own club nights....
It’s that party time of year again: tastemakers have their eyes on the city as London gets glammed up to show off its best talent for the EFG London Jazz Festival. Camilla George is one of the emerging musicians attracting the attention of the music world, who are taking an...