𝙊𝙪𝙧 ‘𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝘽𝙮 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠’ 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨’ 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘.
We love pulling back the curtain on the stories and inspirations behind intriguing new releases. It’s always fascinating to hear the personal anecdotes, creative processes, and little-known tales that shaped each track. These insights not only give us a deeper appreciation for the artistry that goes into crafting these musical gems but also create a sense of connection with the artists.
We continue to be excited about the forthcoming second album by one of London’s most sought-after jazz guitarists, Jamie Leeming. Having popped up on our radar through his collaborations with Alfa Mist. The incredibly talented artist went on to team up with pianist Maria Chiara Argirò for ‘Flow’ in 2020 and dropped his debut solo album ‘Resynthesis’ in 2022. His upcoming new album ‘Sequent’, features contributions from Laura Misch, Sly5thAve, Alfa Mist, Richard Spaven, and Kaya Thomas-Dyke.
Co-produced with Alfa Mist and inspired by Milton Nascimento and Egberto Gismonti, ‘Sequent’ is a twelve-track odyssey. Recorded live with vintage techniques, it captures top-tier musicians creating an enveloping sound. The album explores change with tracks that serve as momentary windows into shifting compositions. Leeming’s vision for vast arrangements is evident, blending analogue sounds and warm instrumentation for a cinematic and emotive experience.
‘Sequent’ is a compelling and enthralling chapter in Leeming’s journey through the intricate world of jazz. I guarantee it will bring you as much delight as it brought me!
Get your hands on the album, complete with artwork by Kaya Thomas-Dyke, here. Stream three tracks below. And while you listen, read his exclusive track-by-track guide.
Mantra’
The music on Sequent explores the nature of change. The album title is a reference from the I Ching (which translates as ‘Book of Changes’), an ancient text from China. Originally used for divination, an excerpt from the text lists the different types of change as ‘non change, linear change and sequent (continuous) change’.
‘Storm 5 (feat. Alfa Mist)’
I’ve worked with Alfa for many years, as part of various musical projects. I’ve always really admired his work as both an instrumentalist and producer – it was a real highlight to be able to collaborate with him, taking on both of these roles, on some of my own music for the first time.
‘Shore Embrace (feat. Laura Misch)’
Laura is an amazing artist, and it was wonderful to be able to collaborate. The rhythm section evolves perpetually throughout the course of the track, with Laura featuring as instrumentalist, vocalist and producer.
‘Late One (feat. Sly5thAve)’
Written about night time contemplations, the foundation of the track was recorded on the first (and only) take. I met Sly whilst on tour in the US with Alfa, and was really happy to be able work together on this record. His approach was beautifully unique, involving, amongst many things, detailed orchestration of individual musical moments throughout the track, performed by multiple layers of woodwinds.
‘Atari’
The title refers to the traditional board game, Go, and a situation where a player’s pieces are in danger of being captured.
‘Changing Line – Escape’
The term ‘changing line’ is another reference to the I Ching. Traditionally, when consulting the book for divination purposes, outcomes to questions posed are represented visually, by either broken or unbroken lines. These are organised into groups of six lines called hexagrams, which are then interpreted by consulting the writings within the book. A reading which denotes a situation in transition is represented by a line that changes from broken to unbroken or vice-versa, called a ‘changing line’. The tracks on Sequent entitled ‘Changing Line’ are all variations of other tracks. In this case, ‘Changing Line – Escape’ follows the same harmonic progression of the previous track, ‘Atari’, played on solo acoustic guitar.
‘Shakkei’
Inspired by a trip to Nara in Japan, ‘Shakkei’ translates approximately from Japanese as ‘borrowed scenery’. The term references a concept in East Asian garden design, where elements of the surrounding landscape are incorporated into the aesthetics of the garden.
‘Thinking of Yesterday (feat. Kaya Thomas-Dyke)’
After many years of working together in different projects, it was really special for me to be able to collaborate with Kaya on a track for this album. Kaya also painted the album artwork, an image of hexagram 24 from the I Ching, entitled ‘Return (The Turning Point)’. The concept of returning is one of the narrative threads that occurs throughout the album.
’27/2’
This track was recorded live, to tape. So many of my favourite records were made this way, and I love how it can inspire changes in approach to improvisation and to a performance as a whole.
‘Changing Line – 27th June’
The production and mix of Sequent are part of the album concept, included from the writing stage. The sounds on this track are a reference to some of my favourite live concert recordings from the 60s and 70s, by artists like Miles Davis and the Tony Williams Lifetime organ trio.
‘Mantra (Return)’
This track revisits and develops the theme of the opening track, ‘Mantra’, and is an exploration of changes in perspective when returning to a point of origin.
‘Changing Line – Mountain’
Written as an outro to the previous track, ‘Shakkei’, the continuous evolution of the soundscape right into the fade out and beyond is a reference to sequent change, and the album title.
