Review: Lewis Daniel - Defective Disk (Independent)

If Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy was set as a jazz concept album in a computer game setting, Lewis Daniel's 'Defective Disk' wouldn't be too far from a fashionably (choose your own post code) London setting.

Sax player Daniel has put together 13 tracks that with a jazz-core, along with big name mates like Jay Phelps and Nathaniel Cross plus acclaimed actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Star Wars, The Queen’s Gambit) who voices Mason, the imaginary CEO of 'Blink', "a dystopian social media conglomerate controlling governments and news".  It's like a post Trump2 update on Soweto Kinch's 'A Life In The Day Of B19: Tales Of The Tower Block' (2006) that was very pre-Social Media in a conscious hip-hop jazz period (Ed. for locational purposes B19 is next to B6, where Aston Villa's Villa Park is). 

'Flawed' featuring Natty Reeves is the 'redemption' highpoint but it really is a UK Jazz 'concept' album and I like Daniel's comment, "Artists like Louis Cole, Hudson Mohawke, and Radiohead really inspired me to experiment with production on this album". 

As Lewis Daniel is an alumini of The BRIT School, Guildhall School of Music (2013) and Tomorrow’s Warriors (like Soweto before him) so there's no contrieve mix with DnB ('Ships Do Sail') or 'Tech Glitch' or 'Find Your Tribe': can you see the concept connections in the song titles.

With 20 musicians contributing you get everything from neo-soul, fusion synths, jazz skat and Carrib pan drums and you can expect support from Jazz FM, BBC Radio 6 and on Jamie Cullum's BBC Radio 2  show.

Artist: Lewis Daniel 

Title: Defective Disk

Release date: 13th May, 2025

Label : Independent

Catalog Number : TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: Lewis Daniel - Find Your Tribe / Ships Do Sail feat. Jay Phelps (Independent)

Saxophonist Lewis Daniel lets us into a couple of tracks from his forthcoming album and one of them features Jay Phelps!

The album called 'Defective Disk' is due in May but you'll want to get aquainted with Lewis's experimental jazz meets gospel meets Fela meets modal; especially on 'Find Your Tribe' - all that's missing is he dub version.

Jay Phelps has been on the London jazz scene for what seems like ages (Ed. just found out he's actually Canadian!)  In fact his debut album 'Jay Walkin' (Ed. clever title eh?) came out in 2010 which wasn't as experimental as some of the other groups he's played in like Empirical, Jazz Warriors and Xhosa Cole Quartet.  So, with 'Ships Do Sail' on a d'n'b bed it's not that surprising but what's the album going to be like if "... the album follows the journey of a video game character named Xavier through a futuristic, cyberpunk world."!

Lewis Daniel is a former Jazz Warrior himself so 'Defective Disk' is bound to be adventurous so getting excited already.

Artist:  Lewis Daniel

Title:  Find Your Tribe / Ships Do Sail feat. Jay Phelps 

Release date: 17th January, 2025

Label: Independent

Catalog Number: TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp