Mackwood – Master Changes [future-,facing jazz from a young London drummer]
Inspired by the UK’s rich electronic and soundsystem culture, Mackwood warps what we usually understand as jazz into thrilling new shapes and unpredictable forms, melding modern production with live instrumentation from his 6 piece band at West London’s 5dB Studios. Named after a sci-fi novel about a nuclear apocalypse, Master Changes (Release Date: 17th October 2024), is influenced not only by a vast range of music, spanning from Curtis Mayfield to Nubya Garcia and Holst to Four Tet; but also by literature and wider conversations on identity, connection and the human condition.
Having cut his teeth drumming and producing for some of the UK’s most exciting and forward thinking artists, including Col3trane, Nilufer Yanya, Jordan Rakei, Eliza and Blue Lab Beats, as well as creative collectives like Levitation Orchestra and The Silhouettes Project, the release of Master Changes signals a new era with the London native now at the forefront.
“The process of making this album has felt like a lot of experimentation and scrapbooking, but there are core energies joining from one idea to another. I deliberately drew on a wide range of ideas over a period of time, but arranged and played it all with the same set of musicians, so the sound world is always shifting around the same core palette. Excited to see it come to life!”
Speaking on the album, Mackwood explains:
