8 Tracks: Blurring the Edges of Jazz and Electronica with Ben Hayes

Music

At the end of this month R&S Records will release a new EP from renowned musician Ben Hayes, a producer and instrumentalist who has been pivotal amidst the experimental fringes of jazz, house and electronica. He's been involved in several influential projects and has worked alongside innovators such as Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Rosie Turton and Maxwell Owin as well as remixing for the likes of Vök, Flamingods and SumoChief. Nubya Garcia actually appears on the new EP…

The new release sits delicately poised between genre and style, difficult to define, much like the backdrop of Ben's own musical influences and tastes. The new EP see's him breathe new life into his own personal outlook to music which as of late has become swamped by a busy work schedule and commitments to a wide array of projects.

In turn we would describe it as his most accomplished work yet.

We've asked him to curate a playlist made up of the music which has inspired his own evolution as an artist, the space between jazz and electronica.

See below:

Buy the EP HERE.

LISTEN

Maxwell Owin - Allthis

Two south-east London production powerhouses Kiran Kai & Maxwell Owin put this together some years ago for a compilation on Chris Coco’s Melodica imprint. When Max first played me this, my jaw hit the floor the moment that melody entered. It’s such deft & delicate production, built around a sample from sax player George Winstone. I can’t believe more people haven’t heard this track.

Maxwell Owin - Allthis

Two south-east London production powerhouses Kiran Kai & Maxwell Owin put this together some years ago for a compilation on Chris Coco’s Melodica imprint. When Max first played me this, my jaw hit the floor the moment that melody entered. It’s such deft & delicate production, built around a sample from sax player George Winstone. I can’t believe more people haven’t heard this track.
Jameszoo - 'Flu Feat. Arthur Verocai'

Arthur Verocai is a complete legend of Brazilian music — an amazing guitarist, composer and arranger, whose 1972 album is one of my favourites. This collaboration with Brainfeeder’s Jameszoo is wacky and exciting and seriously deep.
Soccer96 - Flight Formation (Danny Krivit Edit)

Soccer96 is Dan Leavers (aka Danalogue) and Maxwell Hallett (aka Betamax). The two of them now make up The Comet is Coming with Shabaka Hutchings, but the music they released as a duo is seriously tasty. Danny Krivit’s edit of Flight Formation is one of my dancefloor secret weapons. I had unsuccessfully been looking for the wax for a couple of years, before accidentally stumbling across it in a Disc Union record shop in Tokyo.
Nu Spring - 30/0

These guys are a really exciting group from Melbourne, who dropped this tape on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section label. Their music is such an appealing blend of jazz, soul, psychedelia, and electronic fusion. I had actually been sleeping on them for a while, and only fully came to appreciate them when they played before us at last year’s Brainchild festival.
Uffe - Lemon Nights [Radio Days] [2015]

This whole album is amazing, so it was struggle deciding which track to include. I went with Lemon Nights because its cheekiness is such a great intro to the joy of Uffe’s music. This came out on Tartelet in 2015 and it’s still one of my most heavily rotated albums – the writing and production is just that creative.
Zenel Live @Jazzrefreshed 25.01.17

This one is a live video (from the amazing Jazz:refreshed), because as far as I can tell these guys haven’t actually released any music yet. I caught them last week for the first time ever at Total Refreshment Centre’s birthday party and they blew me away. They play wild jazz/electronic fusion with insane musicianship and instrumental skill. And I’m told they’re all only 18 years old.
Myriad Forest Live On Screensaver

Another live video, this time from promoter & DJ Raimund Wong’s night Screensaver. Myriad Forest was a band whose existence was cut short due to the tragic passing of saxophonist David Turay, who was an absolute luminary in the early days of the SE London scene. The musical legacy he left was huge, and the recordings that exist of this band are a part of it. The line-up is insane, with now notorious drummer Yussef Dayes holding down the rhythm section alongside bassist Jamie Benzies (Cykada & Don Kipper), Tile Gichigi Lipere (Cykada, Sawa Manga, Steam Down) on electronics and live manipulation, and Wayne Francis (United Vibrations, Steam Down) and David Turay making up the front line.
Cro-Magnon - Patchwork Jazz

Finally, some Japanese electronic jazz wackiness, based around the bounciest bass sequence I’ve ever heard. It sounds crazy to start with, but after a few minutes it’s impossible not to move to this one. Great synth work throughout, too.