The Comet is Coming

The Comet is Coming is the collaboration between the saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings and the electronic music duo of Maxwell Hallett and Dan Leavers, aka Soccer96. Among all his musical outlets, this is where Hutchings goes to get his ambient psychedelic EDM jazz fix. The dance component of their sound is laid down through synth-heavy dub-friendly funky grooves that are also a clear tip of the hat to Krautrock greats like Neu and Faust, combined with Hutchings doing some of his repetitive sax riffs building to a screaming crescendo. The jazz component can be dreamy and textural at times, until Hutchings decides to make a run for it, tapping into Afrobeat and middle eastern tonalities. His work he does with this band is the closest to his work he had done with Melt Yourself Down in the past in terms of feel. Shades of Sun Ra's Afrofuturism are here, obviously, so is the spirit of the '70s fusion bands like The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report on calmer pieces.