Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Boisterous jazz / psych fusion super-collective Cykada dare you to categorise them. Epic space rock-worthy expanses meet ecstatic spiritual jazz with a healthy slap of soundsystem culture. Plus And is Phi’s divine cosmic-soul in support, this is a total no brainer FFO: Moses Boyd, Sons of Kemet, Irreversible Entanglements, Run Logan Run."
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A gig held at The Jam Jar on Friday 24th May. The event starts at 20:30.
Wild and raucous Jazz, genre bending and psychedelic future soul, and rare soulful grooves. You don’t want to miss this one...
London based jazz pioneers, Cykada, head up the night with a loud and infectious jazz rock performance to melt your socks off. Before that, And Is Phi teams up with Tilé Gichigi-Lipere for a one-of-a-kind take on her impressive catalogue of soulful jazz psychedelia. And to polish it off, Ash Walker will be bringing along 2 hours of tracks to groove out the night. Get on down to the colourful Jam Jar on the 24th of May for a vibrant night of truly impressive music.
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Cykada
When cicadas appear, they cause turmoil. It's hard to get away from their characteristic 120 dB-noise - pulsating trance. Then the hypnotic sound disappears with the insects. One cycle ends and silence falls, nevertheless, the next one already begins underground. This is where the cicadas mature and wait for metamorphosis. The day before the first lockdown, the guys from Cykada had started to record the new album and with the increasing restrictions they hid underground waiting for the right time to come back. Autumn 2023 is the best moment for coming back with the long-awaited new album: Metamorphosis.
Cykada’s was highly rated by BBC, Red Bull Music, Clash Magazine, Worldwide FM, The Vinyl Factory, Qwest Tv, and many more. The band played at various festivals like Glastonbury Festival, Wilderness Festival, London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme, La Défense Jazz Festival, BAM Festival, and toured throughout Europe visiting the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Denmark, Netherlands, and Belgium.
Cykada has forged a unique and infectious sound. Combining indie, jazz and electronic music with a global inspiration from West Africa to Eastern Europe and throwing in some beats and riddims of soundsystem culture and the spontaneity of jazz, we have a new dynamic mashup unlike anything previously witnessed. Cykada is bringing together the members of Ezra Collective, Maisha, Levitation Orchestra, Zurito and Myriad Forest.
________
And Is Phi
And Is Phi is a multi-disciplinary artist, expressing herself as a painter, vocalist, producer, and writer. Her sound is an ethereal genre bending conversation between samples and soulful instrumentation lifting lyrical poetics and psychedelic vocal flourishes. Her latest work, debut album ‘Double Pink’, offers a reflective exploration of liminal spaces, metamorphosis, and the multiple faces of love. The project has received praise and mention in the Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the month section, as well as Dazed’s 10 albums under the radar 2023.
Hailing from Norway and the Philippines, and building home base in South East London for over a decade, she has collaborated with the likes of Hector Plimmer, Footshooter, Scrimshire, and Emma-Jean Thackray, as well as hosting musical improvisations in Deptford basements, for STEEZ, early Steam Down, and curating for Brainchild Festival. She is also a co-founder of the creative hub and artist development project Scrapbook Mixtape releasing compilations of up and coming artists on Bandcamp.
_________
Ash Walker
Four years on from his explorative third full-length ‘Aquamarine,’ Londoner Ash Walker returns with an equally ambitious follow-up, set for release via Night Time Stories on 30th June. Alongside a plethora of award-winning collaborators and combining a dizzying array of sounds, ‘Astronaut’ hears Walker push his astral shower of rhythm and vibes to new heights. If 'Aquamarine’ was the take-off of his audial spaceship, ‘Astronaut’ is the cosmic voyage reaching terminal velocity; a rocket-powered masterclass spanning jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae.
Ash Walker built a reputation as a fiercely underground DJ with his deep selections of soul, jazz, rhythm & blues, latin hitters and complimentary roots & culture selections, livening up parties worldwide with a heavyweight astral shower of rhythm and vibes.
Entry requirements: 18+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
London based jazz pioneers, Cykada, head up the night with a loud and infectious jazz rock performance to melt your socks off. Before that, And Is Phi teams up with Tilé Gichigi-Lipere for a one-of-a-kind take on her impressive catalogue of soulful jazz psychedelia. And to polish it off, Ash Walker will be bringing along 2 hours of tracks to groove out the night. Get on down to the colourful Jam Jar on the 24th of May for a vibrant night of truly impressive music.
________
Cykada
When cicadas appear, they cause turmoil. It's hard to get away from their characteristic 120 dB-noise - pulsating trance. Then the hypnotic sound disappears with the insects. One cycle ends and silence falls, nevertheless, the next one already begins underground. This is where the cicadas mature and wait for metamorphosis. The day before the first lockdown, the guys from Cykada had started to record the new album and with the increasing restrictions they hid underground waiting for the right time to come back. Autumn 2023 is the best moment for coming back with the long-awaited new album: Metamorphosis.
Cykada’s was highly rated by BBC, Red Bull Music, Clash Magazine, Worldwide FM, The Vinyl Factory, Qwest Tv, and many more. The band played at various festivals like Glastonbury Festival, Wilderness Festival, London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme, La Défense Jazz Festival, BAM Festival, and toured throughout Europe visiting the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Denmark, Netherlands, and Belgium.
Cykada has forged a unique and infectious sound. Combining indie, jazz and electronic music with a global inspiration from West Africa to Eastern Europe and throwing in some beats and riddims of soundsystem culture and the spontaneity of jazz, we have a new dynamic mashup unlike anything previously witnessed. Cykada is bringing together the members of Ezra Collective, Maisha, Levitation Orchestra, Zurito and Myriad Forest.
________
And Is Phi
And Is Phi is a multi-disciplinary artist, expressing herself as a painter, vocalist, producer, and writer. Her sound is an ethereal genre bending conversation between samples and soulful instrumentation lifting lyrical poetics and psychedelic vocal flourishes. Her latest work, debut album ‘Double Pink’, offers a reflective exploration of liminal spaces, metamorphosis, and the multiple faces of love. The project has received praise and mention in the Guardian’s Contemporary Album of the month section, as well as Dazed’s 10 albums under the radar 2023.
Hailing from Norway and the Philippines, and building home base in South East London for over a decade, she has collaborated with the likes of Hector Plimmer, Footshooter, Scrimshire, and Emma-Jean Thackray, as well as hosting musical improvisations in Deptford basements, for STEEZ, early Steam Down, and curating for Brainchild Festival. She is also a co-founder of the creative hub and artist development project Scrapbook Mixtape releasing compilations of up and coming artists on Bandcamp.
_________
Ash Walker
Four years on from his explorative third full-length ‘Aquamarine,’ Londoner Ash Walker returns with an equally ambitious follow-up, set for release via Night Time Stories on 30th June. Alongside a plethora of award-winning collaborators and combining a dizzying array of sounds, ‘Astronaut’ hears Walker push his astral shower of rhythm and vibes to new heights. If 'Aquamarine’ was the take-off of his audial spaceship, ‘Astronaut’ is the cosmic voyage reaching terminal velocity; a rocket-powered masterclass spanning jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae.
Ash Walker built a reputation as a fiercely underground DJ with his deep selections of soul, jazz, rhythm & blues, latin hitters and complimentary roots & culture selections, livening up parties worldwide with a heavyweight astral shower of rhythm and vibes.
Entry requirements: 18+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
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