First Light in Bloomington, MN

Village of the Sun
is an electro-acoustic spiritual jazz trio composed of saxophonist
Binker Golding
, drummer/percussionist
Moses Boyd
(known together as free jazz duo
Binker & Moses
), and
Basement Jaxx
multi-instrumentalist
Simon Ratcliffe
, who plays everything else here. The group's sound embodies uplifting, long-form spiritual and modal jazz innovations introduced by
Alice Coltrane
,
Pharoah Sanders
Gato Barbieri
, and
Airto Moreira
, filtered through layers of 21st century ambient and EDM textures and Latin, African, and Brazilian rhythms.
Ratcliffe
brought
B&M
skeletons of two tracks in 2019 and proposed finishing them as a trio. In January 2020, the double A-side "Village of the Sun" b/w "Ted" was released to massive acclaim from U.K. and European DJs and nu-jazz heads. Given the pandemic and
' other studio and live commitments in 2021, the trio didn't reassemble until 2022. They released the single "Tigris" in September and "The Spanish Master" the following month.
First Light
offers those four tracks and two new ones as
's debut album.
produced and mixed the set, and he does an excellent job folding the duo's sound into his approach without sticking slavishly to it.
Opener "Cesca" is a new track. It begins with reverbed piano chords and rumbling tom-toms as
Golding
delivers cascading notes via circular breathing. A three-chord piano vamp is adorned by spacious, echo-laden electronics announcing the crescendo-like flow as the tune gathers force with each chorus. The tension and intensity ratchet as
and
Boyd
go head to head; the glorious processional melody evolves but never dissipates, even when they dissolve the dramatic tension to end in unified, benevolent expression. "First Light'' is transcendent with its burning, Afro-Latin rhythms fueled by frenetic drumming.
's piano montunos and flowing electronic soundscapes frame his bandmates' statements, responses, and synthesis with canny musical instinct to expand the harmony
explodes with on his horn, playing with the emotional intensity of
Sanders
(think
Thembi
). By contrast, the title track commences with a contemplative sonic drift, whispering cymbals, and Rhodes piano.
offers sparse, low-register notes in a modal theme that emerges amid layers of organic and synthetic percussion. The saxophonist commands the melody as if it were a chant, even as his companions exhort him to solo. He responds with great imagination and dissonant, fiery, honking intensity. The single "The Spanish Master" flows with EDM soundscapes as
states a flamenco theme before moving through cumbia, salsa, and modal jazz.
's complex rhythmic approach is fluid yet forceful and motivates
who layers keyboards and chord progressions with poignant drama. Barely 32-minutes long,
is a major statement from an exciting new trio on the London scene.
's studio music is eclectic and propulsive, dynamic and emotionally and spiritually resonant. This document may reflect the influence of '70s jazz, but the future it approaches is actually timeless. ~ Thom Jurek