(February 7, 2020) The quintet Nebula Sun comes from a city, Norwich, England, that makes their connection to Afrobeat and jazz music seem somewhat striking. Yet, the band’s attraction to both says something to the universality of the genres.
And if we know one thing about Afrobeat and jazz, it’s that both genres spark inspiration from fans and artists who have been moved by the music of Fela Kuti and Louis Armstrong. Nebula Sun’s latest single, “The Start of Time” fuses an up-tempo, percussive saxophone and percussion charged arrangement that takes listeners from west Africa through the Caribbean to New Orleans with its shuffle beat. Then there are the changes in tempo and the improvised creativity that is a staple of jazz music.
The group tells us, “When writing this song we were inspired by the guitar melodies, heavy horn lines and driving rhythms of soukous and afrobeat. The lyrics reflect on the idea that the present moment holds all we need using the imagery of space, light and time. The track culminates in a spacious, trance-like outro where melancholic synths, horns and strings are layered over a breakbeat rhythm. The track was recorded and mixed by Mikey Shaw who did an absolutely amazing job.”
Check out the video for Nebula Sun’s “The Start of Time” here. It is a SoulTracks Premiere.
By Howard Dukes
SoulTracks Premiere!
Nebula Sun – “The Start of Time”