Jazz

SumoChief - SumoTreats

Ashton James Brown takes a look at “SumoTreats”, the latest and greatest from London-based jazzy-hop supremos, SumoChief. The DNA of hip hop has been imbricated with jazz since its birth in the 70s. From the raw drum beats and relentless energy to the intrepid spirit of improvisation, hip hop has both tacitly and overtly sampled from its forbear …

SumoChief - SumoTreats

Ashton James Brown takes a look at “SumoTreats”, the latest and greatest from London-based jazzy-hop supremos, SumoChief.

The DNA of hip hop has been imbricated with jazz since its birth in the 70s. From the raw drum beats and relentless energy to the intrepid spirit of improvisation, hip hop has both tacitly and overtly sampled from its forbear for decades.

Live hip hop quartet SumoChief are a successful example of this fusion, consisting of members Olly Sarkar (drums), Jack Polley (bass), Oscar Laurence (guitar), and Joe Armon-Jones (keys). Their latest release, SumoTreats, is a delightful jazz romp filled to the brim with infectious grooves.

The album tops out at a digestible 29 minutes and sees the group eschew much of the looser grooves from their debut effort. Some of their earlier improvisational charm may be absent here but their musicianship and overall ambition remains, making SumoTreats a significantly more impressive work.

SumoChief are a group at the peak of their creative powers thanks to standout tracks like “Cosmic Reaction” and “Epidemic” and the album features a phenomenal guest list including Joel Bailey, Othasoul, ThisisDA and Cecil B Demented. All in all, SumoTreats makes for a splendid listening experience and will undoubtedly excite your ears and leave you with a serious case of head-nodding syndrome.

SumoTreats is out now and is available to purchase on iTunes and Bandcamp.

Track list

1. Hold Tight (butuneed2getagrip)
2. Elefant
3. ChilliFlake Honeysap (feat. OthaSoul)
4. Cosmic Reaction (feat. Joel Bailey)
5. TastySumoBite
6. Mutiny (feat. ThisisDA)
7. SumoShakout (feat. DJ Jazz T)
8. Epidemic (feat. Cecil B Demented, Rago Foot & Maxwell Owin)

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