Seamlessly merging jazz, electronica and hip-hop – celebrated drummer, producer and composer Richard Spaven delivers an immersive nine-track set. Sole Subject, his sixth album as a solo artist shifts between atmospheric electronics, punchy beats and jazzy melodies with an assured sense of ease.

Having collaborated with a diverse range of artists, many outside the world of jazz including the likes of legendary American producer Flying Lotus and British MC Loyle Carner– Spaven naturally seeks sounds to cross genre boundaries. Take opening track Stellar for example with its backbeat, looping piano and shifting synth patterns acting as rich sonic bed for an exploratory flute line that floats over the top. It comes off as spacey electronica with a jazz sensibility.

Much of Spaven’s distinctive approach as both a composer and a drummer is based on blurring the line between the organic and the synthetic. His tight drum patterns across the record deliberately come off as programmed or sampled, while in fact being played live.

The synth work on cuts like Allied and Faders nods towards legendary Scottish electronic act Boards of Canada with its gently evolving tones. Faders develops to incorporate a punchy break beat that takes us into another space altogether.

The album is made all the more impactful by the presence of featured rappers Wildchild and Tendayi, the former adds his crisp lyrical flows to Spaven’s Arc, while the latter jumps on top of Mind State, which boasts the funkiest bassline of the album and yet more of Spaven’s crisp and engaging beats.

Find Peace within is a real highlight with its hand percussion, bassy synth ‘wubs’ and detailed electronic touches. Some of the soundscapes Spaven creates could get a bit repetitious, but he avoids this becoming issue through the addition of extra instrumentation on tracks such as the album Closer Spirit Quintet – with its beautifully melodic trumpet line as well as by working with the aforementioned guest rappers.

In a scene where fusions of jazz with either hip hop or electronic music are hardly rare, Spaven stands out through a voice on the drums which “rings true with clarity and promise” (Drummerworld) and a compositional approach which makes the fusion of genres always sound extremely smooth and natural.

Sole Subject is an accessible yet cerebral record with the ability to appeal to a wide range of music fans. Spaven has created a genuinely immersive experience that exists beyond simple categorisation. It will be interesting to see where he will take his rich sonic brew next.

from https://ukjazznews.com