UK trumpeter Jonathan Enser's solo project takes modern-day jazz into deep afro feels with Senegalese griot as a featured guest.
Blindspot is an honest odyssey by MATTERS UNKNOWN. The second single by the UKs 6-piece outfit bolsters an impressive brass section and soulful solos on electric piano with rough broken-esque drums. On their voyage, the band is accompanied by Senegalese griot Mohamed Gueye, whose ancestors guide his deeply melodic drumming on the Sabar. It brings into play the full force of this ensemble’s capacity to interact in a shared unity of vision whilst allowing space for each player’s character to shine through.
"This is celestial blues, wrapped in contemporary global grooves."
The outfit the track boasts is quite impressive. Steered by the guidance of Nubiyan Twist trumpeter Jonathan Enser, he is companioned by Matt Davies on drums (Noya Rao), Rosie Turton on trombone (Nerija), Viva Msimang on trombone (COLECTIVA), Lyle Barton on keys and synths (Emma-Jean Thackray, Golden Mean) and Alec Hewes on double bass and electric bass (Allysha Joy). Together, MATTERS UNKNOWN's journey appropriately started with 'A Beginning'.
MATTERS UNKNOWN illustrates once more how the current paradigm of Jazz takes inspiration from and is aimed at the dance floor. Almost in futurist fashion, the soulful yet melancholic tune feels like it's en route like a cycle through London. Going through these motions, the traditional yet contemporary inline of the Senegalese rhythms, make it irresistible to keep still. Culturally, futuristic characteristics of mobility and motion are represented in the way the African diaspora unites in modern contemporary British music.
'BlindSpot' will be available on all digital platforms July 8th 2021.
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