Words and pics: Alan Dearling
Having watched videos of Mikoudi performing over the years since their formation in Leeds in 2022, I was intrigued as to which Mikoudi I would be witnessing at the Trades Club’s ‘Sunday Easy’ session.
It was a packed audience – a nice mix of ages and genders. I say this because they seem to be chameleon-like in the styles of music and members who play at their gigs. In advance publicity for this gig it pictured an eight-piece outfit including three ladies. The five-piece Mikoudi who performed at Trades were different. Indeed, Tom, the guitarist, introduced Eve, the vocalist as a very new member indeed, having apparently joined in the last week!
They are operating geographically between Yorkshire and London. Here’s what they say of themselves:
“We are crafting richly textured compositions that balance the liveness of jazz with the clarity of contemporary songwriting. Mikoudi music moves fluidly between jazz harmony, ambient synth textures and tight grooves all underpinned by a commitment to interactivity and spontaneity. Each member contributes their own parts, making every track a distinct collaboration shaped by the personalities within it.”
But Mikoudi are obviously versatile and adaptable. They opened their set with an instrumental exchange utilising a vibrant palette of mellowing strands of guitar, keys, bass and drums. Very laid back, almost conjuring up the vibe of The Doors’ ‘Riders on the Storm’. The tempo varied as did the sonics, underlayered with a bass and drum punch, fronted with keys, guitar and some hypnotic vocals…
At times I was even minded of Joni Mitchell’s excursions into jazz territories which ranged from Tom Scott’s LA Express through to the more eccentric harmonics of Mingus.
On stage, the members of Mikoudi were smiling, thoroughly enjoying themselves, testing each other out. Musically stretching themselves. Tom informed us that:
“We’re playing many of these tunes only for the first or second time.”
For some, Mikoudi are a jazz-funk collective. There are hints of Return to Forever and even nods to Tal Fallow, reminiscent of Old School Modern Jazz gigs at London venues like Ronnie Scott’s that I used to frequent. But, hey, maybe I am just showing my age!
After the session at the Trades Club, ‘Sunday Easy’ in Hebden Bridge. Alan chatted with David Bullock, the Mikoudi bass-player.
Alan: How many musicians are in the Mikoudi colllective, since that seems to be what you are?
Mikoudi: It has varied over the years, but these days we usually perform with anything between 5-7 musicians depending on who’s available. But the total number of people who have played with us is somewhere around 13 to 15.
Alan: Who performed at Trades Club?
Mikoudi at Trades were:
Archie Williamson – Drums
Tom McEwen – Guitar
Joseph Frost-Tesfaye – Keyboard
David Bullock – Bass
Eve Buckley – Vocals
Alan: How would you describe your current style(s) of music?
Mikoudi: I think we draw on a lot of UK jazz artists for inspiration, people like GoGo Penguin and Richard Spaven. I think a lot of us have a real soft spot for the neo-soul thing that was popular in the 2010s and I think you can really hear that in some of the newer tracks.
Alan: What are the best links to videos of the band available to the public?
Mikoudi:
https://www.youtube.com/@mikoudi
Alan: Who are the key players in Mikoudi? What are their backgrounds?
Mikoudi:
Archie Williamson – Formally of the band No Fox from Newcastle, founded the band in Leeds with a number of students from the Conservatoire in 2021. While the band is quite collective and democratic in how it runs, Archie often takes the lead on recording and releases as well as the general direction of the band as a whole.
David Bullock – I’m based in Yorkshire and play in a few different projects but I look after a lot of the admin for this band as well as contributing creatively. Other projects I play for include Safii Koii, Oppgard and Makk.
Tom McEwen – Tom is a Leeds based guitarist and can be found playing in a number of projects on the Leeds jazz scene, he lends a lot of his compositions to the band which have been good jumping off points for the rest of the band to build on.
I have named three but certainly from a musical perspective it’s super important to us that everyone lends their own thing, and the music would sound very different if we just had one or two writers for the band!
Alan: What performance and recording plans for the future?
Mikoudi: We’ve just finished a couple of recording sessions over in Leeds which we’re really happy with, so expect to start seeing some of those released towards the end of this year or early into next year. Our next performances will be to support those releases, definitely in Leeds and London and then wherever else will have us!
Alan: Apart from World musical domination, and toppling the Ezra Collective off their jazz pinnacle, what are your future plans?
Mikoudi: We’re really excited about the releases we have lined up for next year and being able to get out there and perform a bit more. We’ve been thinking more about how to collaborate more with other artists and bring in different styles and ideas, so I think we’re looking forward to creating a load of new and different stuff into next year as well!
Here’s a recent video from Cobalt Studios, Newcastle-upon-Tyne:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhmK-0HFe3o
