Review: Mackwood - Master Changes (5dB Records)

London-based drummer, producer, songwriter and bandleader Mackwood release a debut album that is diverse and talented as he is.

We've been following Mackwood this year with 'Habits' featuring anaiis and Quinn Oulton (see review HERE) and 'Yella!' featuring Charlie Stacey (see review HERE) but the album is fantastic!

Another track similar to 'Habits' is 'Thunder' that features Eert Evil and Klanja (it's BRUK, soulful, proggy and great all at the same time), 'Talk' and the rest of the album is instrumental modern nu-jazz funk electronica at its best; particularly 'Master Changes' (Parts i and ii), 'Dog' (brilliant post Roy Hargrove 'Golden Era')  and 'Flush Draw'.

'Master Changes' has got it all as you'd expect from an album inspired by artists as varied as Curtis Mayfield to Nubya Garcia to Holst to Four Tet (I'll tell you the story of me one and only meeting with Kieran Hebden one day; that's enough about me).

There's an album launch party at Peckham Audio next Tuesday (22nd October) so it would be a good idea to catch this before Mackwood gets to be massive 

 

Artist: Mackwood 

Title: Master Changes

Release date: 17^th October, 2024

Label: 5dB Records
Cat. No: 5DB24004

Format: Digital

 

Review: Mackwood - Habits (5dB Records)

Here's a good 'Habit' to get into courtesy of Mackwood and DdB Records.

The follow-up to the Mackwood and Charlie Stacey release 'Yella!' (see review HERE) drummer/producer/songwriter Mackwood brings together just some of the influences after working with the likes of scene artists, including Col3trane, Nilufer Yanya, Jordan Rakei, Eliza and Blue Lab Beats.

In fact, if you can imagine Blue Lab Beats album, 'Blue Eclipse' in a more proggy synth bruk jazz fusion form, that's the type of habit Mackwood is wearing here with the help of  anaiis (France/Senegal) and Quinn Oulton (S.London).

Coming out of the Tomorrow's Warriors school, expect to see this guy at future WeOutHere Festivals and similar.

Artist: Mackwood ft. anaiis and Quinn Oulton

Title: Habits

Release date: 20^th June, 2024

Label: 5dB Records
Cat. No: 5DB24002

Format: Digital

 

Producer: Harry Ling
Producer: Javier Weyler
Composer: Harry Ling
Lyricist: anaiis
Lyricist: Quinn Oulton

Review: Mackwood and Charlie Stacey - Yella! (5dB Records)

If you love "cultural cross-pollination" in a musical way, 'Yella!' is not misappropiation of a Coldplay track you may have heard.

Mackwood, real name Harry Ling, has been at the post CDr, dubstep, jazzstep, West London BRUK as drumming/producer with the likes of Col3trane, Nilufer Yanya, Jordan Rakei, Eliza, Blue Lab Beats, Kokoroko, Levitation Orchestra and more has teamed up with another jazzer on keys, Charlie Stacey.

Apparently 'Yella' is a component of gunpowder and this explosive as these two fuse  intergaltic Sun Ra sounds with some of the creatives that Stacey have worked with at the cutting edge of LDN jazz hipsters Yussef Dayes, Moses Boyd, Ezra Collective et al.

Dancefloor of jazz club - this is a BIG Bang!

Artist: Mackwood and Charlie Stacey

Title: Yella!

Release date: 26^th April, 2024

Label: 5dB Records
Cat. No: 5DB24001

Format: Digital