{"id":2319636,"date":"2026-03-09T13:49:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2319636"},"modified":"2026-03-09T13:49:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T13:49:21","slug":"shabaka-picks-up-the-sax-and-drops-some-beats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/shabaka-picks-up-the-sax-and-drops-some-beats\/","title":{"rendered":"Shabaka Picks Up the Sax and Drops Some Beats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In the early days of 2023, Shabaka Hutchings announced he\u2019d be putting down his saxophone. This meant curtains or an indefinite hiatus for his celebrated jazz bands Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, and a flute-heavy palette for his debut full-length as a leader, 2024\u2019s <em>Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace<\/em>. But one of the first melodies you hear on <em>Of the Earth\u2019s<\/em> opening track, \u201cA Future Untold,\u201d comes from a horn. True, it\u2019s played low and slow, and is introduced by a floating spiral of synth, flute, and chimes, riding the edge of the track\u2019s rubato rotation like a leaf on the edge of a whirlpool. It\u2019s a far cry from even the mellowest moments of Shabaka\u2019s prior work with the instrument, but it\u2019s still a saxophone, and the London musician\u2019s cutting, richly hued tone remains as aggressively contemplative as ever.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Just because Shabaka has returned to old ways, however, doesn\u2019t make <em>Of the Earth<\/em> a step back. In several respects, it marks a continuation of his unpredictable, idiosyncratic journey, and yet another sharp departure from his previous path. While <em>Perceive Its Beauty<\/em> featured a cornucopia of guest-stars, <em>Of the Earth<\/em> is a profoundly solo affair, with every instrument, beat, and soundscape fashioned by Shabaka. Suave hip-hop rhythms animate tracks like \u201cThose of the Sky\u201d and \u201cDance in Praise,\u201d and Shabaka makes his debut as an emcee on \u201cGo Astray\u201d and album closer \u201cEyes Lowered,\u201d rapping with a methodical, almost methodical, tracelike flow that can obscure an unexpected levity\u2014\u201dGo Astray\u201d appears to quote Enya. But Shabaka\u2019s former collaborator and fellow flute fanatic Andr\u00e9 3000 shouldn\u2019t worry yet\u2014the vocals on <em>Of the Earth<\/em> feel like an offshoot of Shabaka\u2019s newfound interest in production, rather than the point.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">More from Spin:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>(Artwork by Atiba Jefferson)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The main source of <em>Of the Earth<\/em>\u2018s appeal lies not in its reeds or its bars but in its construction, a balance of meticulously assembled layers and roughshod techniques. The intricate \u201cThose of the Sky\u201d mixes loops, sequencers, and sampled birdsong with flute and sax melodies in precise calibration. But just as all the elements really begin to dance, it cuts off, as if the tape had run out or a switch had been suddenly flipped. A bracing bit of informality, it injects some haphazard spontaneity into what\u2019s otherwise a very precise sound world. Shabaka\u2019s beats likewise have a bluntly casual, bouncing quality, as on the weighty foursquare thump that erupts in the middle of \u201cStep Lightly,\u201d or the handball-like ricochet of \u201cOl\u2019 Time African Gods.\u201d But they can also move with surprising poise, as on \u201cLight the Way,\u201d which has the feline momentum of Autechre or Aphex Twin, but with flutes providing the hooks instead of synthesizers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Shabaka\u2019s trajectory so far has been the product of both determination and restlessness, a series of drastic shifts carried out with deliberate purpose. <em>Of the Earth<\/em>, the first release on Shabaka\u2019s own label, could be a fruitful new beginning, a temporary detour or a jumping-off point to something else entirely. Whatever the case, it\u2019s another step toward wherever Shabaka needs to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spin.com\/2021\/07\/the-greatest-rock-stars-of-all-time\/?utm_source=yahoo&amp;utm_medium=bottomlink&amp;utm_campaign=yahoolink\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:click here;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the early days of 2023, Shabaka Hutchings announced he\u2019d be putting down his saxophone. This meant curtains or an indefinite hiatus for his celebrated jazz bands Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, and a flute-heavy palette for his debut full-length as a leader, 2024\u2019s Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace. But one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2319637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[389275],"class_list":["post-2319636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-shabaka"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Shabaka-Picks-Up-the-Sax-and-Drops-Some-Beats.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2319636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2319638,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2319636\/revisions\/2319638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2319637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2319636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2319636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2319636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}