Sons of Kemet

Led by horns man Shabaka Hutchings, experimental jazz group Sons of Kemet - formed in London, England in 2011 - make a clattering, messy carnival of sound that explores the spread of music from Africa into contemporary musical styles across the world. Hutchings was born in London but moved to his parents' homeland of Barbados when he was six. After picking up the clarinet, Shabaka Hutchings returned to England at 16 and studied at the Guildhall School of Music while cutting his teeth on the UK jazz scene. He worked with greats like Courtney Pine and Herbie Hancock and played with groups Melt Yourself Down and Zed-U. Inspired to form his own band, he recruited drummer Seb Rochford, tuba player Oren Marshall and percussionist Tom Skinner to form Sons of Kemet. Their energetic, free-form grooves and relentless, infectious rhythms made debut album Burn one of the most acclaimed releases of 2013. On Burn, Shaabaka Hutchings' colorful, sprawling sax lines helped cross the genres of jazz, experimental and world music. They won the MOBO Award for Best Jazz Act in 2013 and had tracks from the album remixed by producers/mixers such as Micachu and Vince Vella. Their 2015 sophomore album, Lest We Forget What We Came Here to Do, paid tribute to the music of the Caribbean community which had emigrated to Britain in the 1950s. Even after a line-up change, the Sons of Kemet continued to meld the sounds of West African drummers with New Orleans Mardi Gras celebrations and Trinidadian soca melodies on their 2018 album Your Queen Is a Reptile. Three years later, the band issued the album Black to the Future (2021).

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