GET TO KNOW: MACKWOOD
FEATURES - MUSIC - GET TO KNOW
THURSDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2024
WORDS BY LIAM TYLER
Mackwood, the multifaceted drummer, producer, and bandleader, is making waves in the UK jazz scene with the release of his debut album, Master Changes. His genre-blurring sound merges modern electronic production with live instrumentation, creating a dynamic and unpredictable listening experience. Having already captivated audiences at festivals like Cross The Tracks and Wilderness, Mackwood is set to bring his vision to life with a headline show at Peckham Audio on October 22nd. This marks a significant moment in his career as he steps into the spotlight with his unique approach to jazz and electronic fusion.
Born into a music-loving family with diverse cultural roots, Mackwood's upbringing in Shepherd's Bush shaped his deep connection to rhythm and music. His journey, from learning West African drumming as a child to studying at Guildhall School of Music, combined with influences from electronic subcultures like drum & bass and house, has led to a fresh, forward-thinking sound. With his live band, Mackwood draws from his experiences with artists such as Col3trane, Jordan Rakei, and Nilufer Yanya, signaling a new era in his career with the release of Master Changes.
We caught up with Mackwood to find out more about his debut album, his creative process, and his journey to where he is now.
Your debut album Master Changes blends jazz with a wide array of genres, from electronic to drum & bass. How did your upbringing and musical influences shape this genre-crossing approach?
I’ve always loved a lot of different kinds of music – both my parents are big music lovers so I always had music on around the house. RnB, Rock, Jazz, Hip Hop, all sorts of sounds. I started in rock bands as a kid, but also discovered software like Logic and Ableton around the same time, so there was this production identity running in tandem the whole time. Jazz opened me up to the traditions of really studying styles and languages, so this project kinda evolved along that line between freely blending stuff that I’m into, while trying to be faithful to the sounds that I’m trying to capture. Soundsystem based music like DnB and Garage are great examples – I feel like the UK is really good at branching out from it’s cultural roots while still keeping that reverence and tradition alive.
How did you first get into music, and what led you to pursue drumming and producing?
I started drum and piano classes where I grew up in West London, I joined band classes at The Rhythm Studio in Kensal (right opposite Mark de Clive-Lowe and on the same street as 5db who I’m signed with!) where I made my first beats on Logic. It was honestly just play and discovery, and every new track I learnt would lead me to a bunch of related songs. As I got started with Jazz music I joined the National Youth Jazz Orchestra Academy and Tomorrow’s Warriors, and that really set me on the path of learning to improvise, which ended up informing loads of my beatmaking because of all the sampling between Hip Hop and Jazz music.
You’ve mentioned that Master Changes was inspired by the sci-fi novel Riddley Walker. How did the themes of that book influence the album’s narrative and sound?
It's a really crazy book about life in post-apocalyptic England, that I read while starting the music for the album. There are some direct references to the book for sure - Master Changes itself is the word used for the science used to build the first nuclear weapons. The end of the world is inherently a tricky topic to write about because, well – everything ends lol. The book mostly just got me thinking about the world as we know it, and how we interpret it and make use of it. As humans in the developed world we always seem to be reaching for something – better living, better tech, better health – but that pursuit can lead us to behave in some pretty destructive ways that take us away from the world around us in all its complexity and beauty.
In that sense, the album has been my companion in reconnecting with the world and learning to love it and work with it rather than against it, and “mastering my changes” has helped me find some life’s inherent beauty, even when it feels tough. I feel like the tracks all aim at some point of transcendence, whether it’s through a particular solo or written into the song itself. I think both Jazz and Dance music share a lot of qualities there, in terms of setting a scene through a loop or melody, and then building energetically through it.
You’ve worked with a number of incredible artists like Col3trane and Nilüfer Yanya - how did those collaborations influence your solo project, and what have you carried forward from those experiences?
Col3 taught me about putting your stamp on really catchy writing - hitmaking with an edge. He can really make it sound like he’s talking right at you through the track, and his lines just hit every time.
Nilüfer has so much lineage and history in her music but always catches you off guard. I remember we did a PJ Harvey cover once but she played with the arrangement in such a cool way. Her music has an intimacy but also a sternness, and she plays along that line effortlessly – I've heard her develop her sound with different production and writing techniques and the results are always awesome.
Which artists or albums have been the most influential to your music-making process?
CRAZY question to try and answer quickly lol. Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea were all Jazz greats who branched out sonically into the new sounds around them. Drummers like Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and Billy Cobham also helped put drums front and centre as bandleaders and composers in their own right.
Some others off the dome - Adam F, Goldie, Kenny Garrett, Monte Booker, Jahari Stampley, Danny Brown, Esperanza Spalding, AG Cook, Autechre, Tennyson, Photay, Underworld, Derrick Hodge, Mk.Gee, Dijon, James Francies, Cruza, JPEGMAFIA, Salute, Sam Gellaitry...many more no doubt.
How do you define success as an artist? Is it through personal growth, audience reception, or something else?
I think “success” has to be on the inside first – making stuff that you’re really proud of, or at least invested in. As long as the “why” is strong enough, the “how’s” and “what’s” of a career have the room to take place in their own way, including connecting with the right audience. I heard a quote from one of my favourite musicians, Joel Ross, who put a focus on ‘playing your ass off’ before worrying about what opportunities you should be able to expect. I’d agree – focussing on the intent has helped keep me on track for all the other elements of getting it out to people, which has helped make some really cool linkups happen with filmmakers and artists etc.
You describe your music as ‘produced and played at the same time.’ How do you navigate the balance between live instrumentation and modern production techniques, especially with your six-piece band?
It basically means that whatever you hear on the record is what you get live – no backing track. I chose my band because they can do things like FX and sound design live on their instruments, like 808 sounds on the bass or white noise sweeps by running the trumpet through pedals. It means we can get really bang-on moments when things get into a rave space, but it also leads to some crazy solo moments in the Jazz sections of the set. Still feels like we have loads of places to take it, very exciting.
Anatole’s MIDI accordion plays a big role in your live shows. How does this unique instrument shape your band’s sound, and what drew you to it?
Yeah it’s a 1 of 1 instrument he’s playing. It basically works the same as an EWI (electronic wind instrument), so he can play synth parts with the same expression as a horn player. He can also trigger FX and lay down chords and pads, so the versatility is defo a big addition to the sound. Main thing with him is just how deep he is to so many styles – even played jungle breaks live with him.
What was it like working with your band to bring the tracks on Master Changes to life, and how did your collective dynamic evolve over the course of recording the album?
It was a real experience putting this stuff together. It was my first time bringing the ideas out of my laptop and hearing them played live and all the parts started to shift and change organically. From a writing perspective, it meant that songs would develop at a way quicker pace because all of a sudden someone could just play the exact sound back at me, but with a new melody or voicing or some additions to the sound. It felt like my usual solo process but in real-time. On stage, it’s an even more open canvas because we can play with the section lengths we arranged in the studio, so the Jazz improv dimension to the sound is in full effect.
As someone who’s been part of collectives like The Silhouettes Project and Levitation Orchestra, how important is community to your creative process?
Defo a key component for me - I couldn’t get nearly the same fluidity recording and performing if it wasn’t for the synergy between me and the band. I know plenty of people who work great solo and with their select producers/writers, and I for sure have my circle of people that I call on for pretty much everything. That being said I would have never met these guys if it wasn’t for jam sessions, youth clubs and the wider scene at large.
Same deal with Levitation and Silhouettes. I met the latter through a chance meeting at a studio, and Levitation is a completely collectivised project – we write and develop all the music in group workshops so it’s equally owned by all members at all times, which is a super powerful process.
Your multicultural background and exposure to different genres, from West African drumming to jazz, have clearly influenced your sound. How do you fuse these global elements into your music?
I mean I’m not making a point in this project of drawing from any specific idioms, to the extent of bands like Balimaya or New Regency Orchestra, who are very clear in their roots of Senegalese and Nuyorican music specifically. I’ve played with lots of the guys from those bands though, and the spirit of historical understanding and depth is definitely what I’ve learnt to preserve in my approach. A lot of the rhythmic concepts in those kinds of music have stood the test of time for hundreds of years or more, so even if I’m choosing to blend other styles together, a lot of the same core relationships are still pushing the music along and setting pace.
With your album release and upcoming headline show at Peckham Audio, what are your hopes for the future? Where do you see your sound evolving next?
I've already played with other bands abroad so I’m very gassed to put together some touring of my own and see my friends overseas. Already have a really exciting setup with this hybrid stage/production workflow so I’m excited to see which spaces this music can fit in - My music also comes out of dancefloor sounds so expanding into Boiler Room/ADE/Dekmantel/All Points East territory feels on the cards too. Already had some lovely firsts this year on stages like Cross The Tracks and Brick Lane Jazz Festival, so just looking forward to building the release/live profile and taking this project out to some new places!
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