'Light of Day' by Richard Spaven

The union between Richard Spaven and Edition Records was announced earlier this year to great excitement.  Already a fantastic twelve months for Edition which has included new music from Petter Eldh, N∆BOU, Dave Holland and Miho Hazama, 'Light of Day' finds the London-based drummer once again donning the signature black baseball cap, scooping up the drumsticks and getting back to work delivering his fantastic sixth full-length release.

From serving as a product of London's broken beat 90s scene to helping pioneer the city's contemporary jazz renaissance, Richard Spaven's twenty-plus year career has seen him cultivate an incredible catalog of music as both a key collaborator and solo artist in his own right.

With past releases through Jazz Re:Freshed, Soul Has No Tempo, !K7 Records and Spaven's own Fine Line Records, Spaven's music has adeptly straddled that line of spiritual jazz influences working in sublime harmony alongside electronic and broken beat stylings.

Establishing his affections for club culture through his contribution to Jazz Re:Freshed's revered 5ive series, the cult favourite established his musical mission statement early and established the template that would ultimately define his versatility going forward.  Boasting incomparable contributions to projects by Seravince ('Hear to See'), Robert Mitchell 3IO ('The Embrace'), Ntjam Rosie ('Breaking Cycles') and Ambient Jazz Ensemble ('Aura'), Spaven's phenomenal output has long cemented him as not just a pioneer but a genuine North Star.

Much of Spaven's strengths rest in the fact that his music is far from a high-energy amalgamation of varying sonic landscapes but more of a measured and almost intricate assessment.  As typified throughout 'Light of Day', Spaven ingeniously captures warm and intimate settings as masterfully as his ability to command a packed dance floor.

With a sound aesthetic that calls back to Spaven's debut album - the masterpiece that is 'Whole Other*' (2014) - 'Light of Day' finds its happy place within the intimacy of its multi-layered textures.  Songs like the album's closer 'Magnolia', which is beautifully paced, creates such a transcendent backdrop that the song stays with you long after its final note.  Conversely, the hip-hop inspired 'Finders' features rapper and frequent Spaven collaborator, Wildchild, whose impassioned verses juxtapose perfectly with James Copus' flugel horn solo. 

Featuring an inspired list of collaborators including album co-pilot in pianist Oli Rockberger, the line-up further boasts guitarist Stuart McCallum and bassist Petter Eldh who all contribute perfectly in conveying the drummer's over-arching musical vision.

Incapable of ever delivering a misstep, Richard Spaven's debut for Edition Records yields the results listeners would undoubtedly have been hoping for.  As his first record release with a major label, 'Light of Day' feels less like a new chapter and more like a continuation of Spaven's long established musical identity.