THIEFS - Static Culture (The Drops) [Jazz]
- The Slow Music Movement
- 4 minutes ago
- 2 min read
*** This blog post first appeared in TSMM's May 2nd Newsletter, where you can get all the tips (and more) first ***
I missed their 2013 debut, but THIEFS jumped out at me at me five years later with their excellent twisted hip hop, soul-soaked, spoken word-graced, live, direct, and saying something take on nu-jazz, that included the ever-great Mike Ladd on three tracks. You should check it out. And then... Nothing. Until now, and the recent release of this Static Culture EP, and I’m happy to report they still rock.
The trio are Christophe Panzani on tenor sax and electronics, Keith Witty rattling your speakers with his bass, and David Frazier Jr. annoying the neighbours on drums. Not wanting to lose the faint of heart, they ease us into their new EP with the aptly titled “Dream”, a cosmic jazz-hop doormat that welcomes you to the more angular and out-there jazz deviance of “Nya“ with its heavy bass pulse, some oddly industrial percussion and a mellow jazz refrain that proceeds to meander into spiritual jazz realms as Panzani stretches out, encouraging the others to do the same.
Hold tight for the EP title track though, which signals its arrival with a sax siren, agitated drums and free-spirited bass, Mike Ladd leaps into the jazz deep end with his time-honed lyrical prowess and serious attitude, as you’d expect from a Fellow at the Institute for Arts and Civic Dialogue at Harvard. But then, just as the moshing starts, the track morphs into a spoken word daydream with fresh beats, mellow contrabass and ambient jazz horns. But just for a bit. The boys suddenly catch each other’s eyes, and decide the track deserves a freer jazz finale. Hopefully, there’s more new music to come.
Playlist Companion
Find THIEFS in the Slow Jazz Playlist.