Recording of the Week,
Village of the Sun, 'First Light'
Born out of the somewhat unlikely collaboration between jazz duo Binker & Moses – saxophonist Binker Golding and drummer Moses Boyd – and electronic music producer (and one half of duo Basement Jaxx) Simon Ratcliffe, Village of the Sun is a still relatively young project that came together in late 2019 out of the trio’s mutual love for improvised instrumental music. If you listened to popular radio stations in the early 2000s you’ll likely be familiar with Ratcliffe’s work with Basement Jaxx, including hits like ‘Where’s Your Head At’ and ‘Do Your Thing’ that still continue to enjoy heavy rotation on the airwaves; the imprint of Basement Jaxx on English dance music is already long-established.
Binker & Moses are a comparatively more recent act, though the drum & sax duo have been on the UK jazz radar for a good while now with release of their debut Dem Ones which earned them the 2015 MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act. It was Ratcliffe who first approached Binker & Moses with the proposition of starting a trio back in 2019, bringing them two compositions that would become their debut two-track EP Village of the Sun originally released at the start of 2020. Following a short break in activities – partly due to the pandemic and Binker & Moses’ packed schedules – the trio have returned to the project with a full-length debut, First Light, on Gearbox Records.
First Light isn’t the only close collaboration that Binker & Moses have made with an electronic producer, as earlier this year Feeding the Machine saw them teaming up with Max Luthert, who weaved a number of ambient and synthesised sounds into the pair’s improvisations. That being said, you won't find much of that Basement Jaxx DNA in First Light, though Ratcliffe does introduce his electronic textures and ear for mixing & producing throughout the record; his contributions on First Light are numerous though probably not what you’d expect had this been more of a dance-meets-jazz-styled collaboration. Taking more apparent inspirations from spiritual jazz sounds à la Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, Binker & Moses naturally handle the sax and drum duties respectively, while Ratcliffe contributes the rest of the instrumental palette – from keys and piano to upright bass and synthesisers.
‘Cesca’ establishes this tonal palette pretty firmly with swirling saxophone lines and chattering percussion as the trio dial into some loose improv and warm ambiance. Much more liberal in structure than the title track that follows after, ‘First Light’ is laced with subtle synthesiser textures and a more propulsive rhythm, peppering in a mild samba flavour as Goldings’ sax improvisation starts to heat things up a little more. The two tunes from the trio’s original self-titled EP – ‘Ted’ and ‘Village of the Sun’ – also appear here; the band’s eponymous track features an equally dense arrangement, with bouncy bell-like keys grounding the shimmering noise and percussion while Golding comes in with a spiritual era Coltrane-channelling hook. ‘The Spanish Master’ is the most overtly samba-influenced tune, built around a loose flamenco-evoking progression with a full-bodied sax melody worming its way into the listener’s ears, while ‘Tigris’ acts as something of a reprise to ‘Village of the Sun’, capping off this miniature suite. ‘Ted’ on the other hand sprinkles in some more hints of electronica and an urgent tempo, climaxing the record in searing saxophone and clattering drums set against a quilt of keys.
First Light is a cool summer sunset of a record, equally revelling in muted ambient shades and inspired improvisation. Only running slightly over 30 minutes total, it does anything but overstay its welcome; atmospheric yet subtly danceable, First Light serves as a love letter to the first wave of spiritual jazz artists, while also bringing those sounds further in line with modern tastes.
First Light is available now on CD, vinyl and digital download...
Joshua Lee - Jazz Content
