This month we have the immense privilege of having Shabaka Hutchings pick some of his favourite tracks for our mixtape. The very talented clarinettist, saxophonist and composer at the helm of Sons of Kemet, the vibrant polyrhythmic quartet from London, takes us on a musical odyssey with tunes from all over the planet. His selection defies classification but it clearly points towards a lush paradise where reeds and drums reign supreme.
Burn, the highly anticipated debut album from London born, Barbados bred Shabaka Hutchings’s project Sons of Kemet arrives in just a week. To help bring his project to life, the prodigious clarinettist, saxophonist and composer enlisted some of London’s most talented musicians – Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford on drums and Oren Marshall on tuba.
Due out on September 9th via Naim Jazz Records, Burn encapsulates Shabaka’s myriad of influences and his own heritage, blending elements of jazz, Caribbean folk music and African Diasporan history.
“I thought none of the music I’m playing had a Caribbean accent, so I wanted to have that influence,” said Hutchings. “I wanted it to be that deeper thing that links into the African Diaspora but isn’t clichéd, where you hear it and think this is that nice happy music from the islands.”
Sons of Kemet have recently premiered a video for the fierce and hypnotic ‘Inner Babylon’, offering a tantalizing glimpse at what might be one of our favourite albums of the year. The video was directed by Czlowiek Kamera, watch it now.
