The notion of freedom within jazz has always come with a political and societal resonance. After all, Black American pioneers have face discrimination from the genre’s birth, making jazz a potent vehicle for undiluted expression. In the UK, we share many of the issues that plague American society, so it’s no surprise to witness musicians react to this in their art. What is surprising in the music of DoomCannon, however, is the intensity of his approach, and the extent to which freedom – operating out-with creative boundaries – can be found.
A record that seemingly took the South London artist some four years to bring to completion, ‘Renaissance’ is an impeccably detailed work. There’s a sense of DoomCannon’s painterly touch upon every moment, with each part seeming to speak to the next. A dense tapestry of sound, ‘Renaissance’ pivots from influence to influence, held together by a profound sense of emotional truth.
‘Dark Ages’ is a daring introduction, uncompromising in its fusion of light and shade. ‘Entrance To The Unknown’ could almost stand as a totem for the project as a whole, before giving way to the heavyweight excursions of eight-minute opus ‘Uncovering Truth’.
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What’s intriguing is the ability of DoomCannon to seek out sounds beyond jazz, and use those to revitalise the lineage within which he operates. ‘This Too’ utilises a slumped beat so reminiscent of Dilla, while allowing the space opened up by the song’s spatial exploration to be filled with an absorbing sense of brightness, and optimism.
An album of deviating tones and moods, you can contrast ‘This Too’ with the staunch futurism of ‘Times’, the manner in which the composer is able to fuse those multi-faceted layers of sound – the choral arrangement, the purring, club-focussed drumming, the languid strings – with wide-open melodic inflections, and a guest spot from fellow London-rooted cosmic voyager Lex Amor.
Indeed, the city as a whole permeates DoomCannon’s work. His vision was guided by the networks around him, learning from his peers – he was previously a member of TriForce, and has worked with Nubya Garcia – in the process. What emerges is a potent text, an album dominated by a palpable sense of decision: whether to remove himself, or to participate, whether to accept, or reject. A vast mosaic of sound, ‘Renaissance’ feels like a potent, and highly significant achievement.
8/10
Words: Robin Murray
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