London based jazz duo Binker & Moses new album Feeding The Machine is quite simply a cracking album. Now, it may seem odd to start a review with the conclusion but seeing as jazz comes in various forms, including the more-punk-than-punk free form, opening with the end seems somewhat apt.

Binker & Moses - Feeding The Machine
Feeding The Machine cover

But let us add some structure here and answer my initial question of "who are Binker & Moses?".

Binker Golding and Moses Boyd are the core duo on saxophone and drums respectively. They released their first album Dem Ones in 2014, Journey to the Mountains of Forever followed in 2017. After a five year studio hiatus Feeding The Machine is here.

Produced by Hugh Padgham and recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, Golding and Boyd are joined by 'honorary third member' Max Luthert who provides tape loops, electronics and other assorted sonic manipulations.

Binker & Moses
Credit - Dan Medhurst

For me, sticking Feeding The Machine in a genre even as wide-ranging as jazz is too narrow. Yes, at its heart it is a jazz album, but it is also so much more expansive.

Opening track Asynchronous Intervals is slightly over 11 minutes long. That in itself is one hell of a way to start an album. It encompasses dreamy sax playing that is looped to create an ambient atmosphere. A lolling drumbeat begins that Golding expresses himself over. This is punctuated by gentle hi-hat and cymbal whispers. All the while, almost out of consciousness is the continuing looped intro.

Active-Multiple-Fetish-Overlord is perhaps the most traditionally 'jazzy' song on the album - except for Luthert's contributions. Who knew that playing over backmasked sampling of the first half of the song could sound so engaging?

I'll gently skip over Accelerometer Overdose as I've already written about it when it was announced as a single. Suffice to sat it is the cornerstone of the album. Talking of which, Moses Boyd says of Feeding The Machine:

I feel myself and Binker have been wanting to create this album for some years. The timing was never right, and I also feel we needed some more experience under our belt to attempt a record like this. We knew we wanted it to be different from all our previous material. Each Binker and Moses record has a strong identity and we wanted to maintain that whilst contributing something new that excites us both.

You get the sense with Feed Infinite of what Boyd describes. In terms of core duo input it feels the most minimal with Luthert's synths, if not taking centre stage then definitely acting as the canvas for Golding's and Boyd's instrumental masterstrokes.

After The Machine Settles glitches and grooves its way foreward in an almost psychedelic as Boyd's rhythmic pounding is complemented by Golding's alternating riffing and staccato playing. Droning electronics from Luthert only add to the trippy feel.

Closing track Because Because ends where we began - a track that is almost 10-minutes in length mirroring the duration of Asynchronous Intervals - manipulated and looped sax that is gently punctuated by percussion. As it progresses, Golding drops eastern-scale riffs whilst Boyd's heartbeat-like drumming adds an organic feel that stands in contrast to the contributions thus far by Luthert. As it reaches its coda you feel like adrenaline has been added into the mix. It ends as it starts, with Golding's sax playing a solitary note. The "yep" at the end is joy to hear as well, reminding me somewhat of Mark E Smith's "ladies and gentlemen - The Fall!" at the end of Hexen Definitive-Strife Knot from the Peel Session collection.

So, to conclude with the introduction: Feeding The Machine is quite simply a cracking album. The playing of both Golding and Boyd is sublime, and the contributions from Luthert elevate the playing to another level. What's even more impressive is that Luthert did his 'thing' live in the studio. All three are at the height of their respective games, and it comes across in each note, beat, and loop.

Feeding The Machine by Binker & Moses is out now on Gearbox Records and can be bought here.

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