It’s not often something lands on my desk that seems to encapsulate everything good about modern excursions into jazz, usually weighed down by cliché, and embedded with the usual formulaic cheese that sums up so much “acid jazz’ and “nu-jazz’.
Enigmatical is part of the Out Of The Blue Crew (www.outofthebluecrew.com), and making a judgement on this release alone, is going to be an artist, crew and label to watch closely.
Enigmatical seems to avoid any of these trappings, breaking the mould to create music of equal parts jazz and hip hop. Exercises In Beat Tradition Volume 1 & 2 grabs every great aspect of jazz, the raw funk, the spiritual jazz pioneers of yesteryear, and the space between the notes to create evocative jazz soundscapes. The 20 tracks take us on a journey through every nation ever touched by the jazz spirit, but underpinned with a strict hip hop production ethic, beats nailed to the rhythm, propelling the cleverly sampled elements to create something entirely new. Think a cross between great labels such as MoWax, Ninja Tune, Ubiquity and Memphix, channeling the whole spectrum of jazz, but creating a coherent result of finely balanced beats, bass and mellow swing.
As Enigmatical states, “this is a collection of instrumentals, beats and scapes… a black and white mix up for better seeing of colours… a few stills… exercises within a frame of knowing, needs take form…†This really sums up his philosophy, his approach to production, his love of jazz… He is passionate about jazz, that’s so obvious, the samples he has chosen, the method used to weave them together. It’s never in your face, its subtle, mellow, calming, oozes the spirituality you’d expect from some of the greats, and pleases your soul.
This is an outstanding debut release for the label, maybe setting the bar too high from the start, but we will see, and I will be listening some more.
Wayne Stronell
