Future Classic: Ruby Rushton “Two For Joy” (22a Music)
London based label 22a have been ruffling a few feathers over the last year with their no-nonsense brand of dance music acting as a creative hub for a collective of like-minded musicians; Tenderlonious, Al Dobson Jr, Jeen Bassa, Mo Kolours, Reginald Omas Mamode IV and Henry Wu. Now into the label’s sixth release, comes their first ever album by Ruby Rushton.
Tearing up the rule book, reaching beyond traditional jazz and coffee table conformity, this innovative quartet fuse hip-hop, afro-beat and electronic music to create “tomorrow’s music, tomorrow’s sound.”
Ruby Rushton’s debut album “Two For Joy” was recorded in 2011 – deeply personal instrumental compositions fuelled by a love of Coltrane, Yusef Lateef and Fela Kuti to more contemporary artists like Slum Village and Sa-Ra. The four-piece are led by Ed Cawthorne (aka Tenderlonious) who plays saxophone, flute and percussion alongside drummer Yussef Dayes, trumpeter Nick Walters and keyboard player Aidan Shepherd.
The long-player is filled with moments of ramped-up spell-binding energy, meditative slow-build solos, and melancholic grooves. Recorded live in one day with no overdubs, “Two For Joy” is the result of four friends coming together and pouring their hearts out in the most expressive way they know how.
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