‘Allysha’s presence lingered over the entire room as she performed with the elegance and substance of Erykah Badu… With a soul as big as her talent, it’ll not be long before the rest of the world is at her feet with us.’  The AU Review

Allysha Joy is best known for performing in Melbourne Hip Hop collective 30/70, and their success over the past few years lead her to further challenging her expression in a project of her own. Allysha is pushing boundaries as a keys player, poet, singer and producer, and released her first solo record Acadie : Raw in 2018 (hailed as ‘Album of the Week’ by Music is my Sanctuary).

Whether performing solo on Fender Rhodes or accompanied by her band, featuring members of 30/70, Allysha’s steady groove, husky vocal tone and unique style of writing emanates her own personal truth and powerful energy.

Allysha Joy has performed alongside acts such as Sampa the Great, Man Made Mountain, MKO and Simon Mavin, of Hiatus Kaiyote.

Based in south east London, electronic musician Ben Hayes creates music somewhere between spiritual jazz, dance music, and experimental electronica. Lacing synthesisers and live instruments with found sounds, he expertly layers organic textures with punchy lopsided beats, whilst pulling out sounds of minute beauty that would otherwise pass us by.

Active in the bubbling south London scene, his work is interwoven into the sound of the area, having produced for Puma Blue, Poppy Ajudha, Oscar Jerome, Maisha and Carmody, collaborated with Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones and Maxwell Owin, and remixed Vök, Otzeki, Flamingods and SumoChief.

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Brother’s Testament are a groove based jazz fusion band from London. Consisting of Mark Mollison, Hugo Piper, Jack Robson and Munashe-Caleb Manyumbu, their sound amalgamates powerful grooves and stirring melodies whilst also being rooted in the jazz tradition. Brother’s Testament perform from the heart and embrace improvisation, so that the set manifests organically on stage differently each time.

Brother’s Testament have already captivated audiences at Jazz Cafe (supporting Antonio Sanchez), London Jazz Festival under the #jazznewbloodALIVE2018 series, Vortex Jazz club (headline show), Wilderness Festival (in association with Jazz:refreshed) and Jazz FM’s Jazz in the Round.

Lunch Money first met at a local library as part of a rapidly expanding philosophical reading group. Forming the cultural arm of the organisation were the musicians that would later be known as Lunch Money.

Soon becoming dissatisfied with the direction of the group, they split to form a purely musical cell, whose wordless communications would prove the most effective medium for their message.

(In their own words)

Lunch Money are not your standard band. Comprised of members of Touching Bass Church Of Sound and Total Refreshment Centre they make music with synths, live instrumentation including trombone, sax and whatever they have to hand – all generated with a bag of forward motion. It’s going to move you. It’s going to surprise you. It’s just…. Going.

Plumm is a London-based vocalist, instrumentalist and producer. Her dark, jazzy vocals are a distinctive feature of her unique sound, which is both gritty and evocative.

With her newly released EP entitled The Shed, Plumm’s influence from strong female jazz greats of the past, is married with an eclecticism in production and inspiration. The outcome is an eccentric sound, which is accentuated by the Plumm band when they perform live – bringing a whole new beautiful and ethereal dimension. 

Plumm trained in Jazz at the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy along with a degree in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, specialising in North Indian Classical music.

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Sawa-Manga is the creative child of beat wizard D’Vo and vocalist/poet And Is Phi, joined by a string section comprised of Maria Osuchowska on Harp, Mark Mollison on Electric Guitar, and Saskia Horton on Electric Violin. It is an exploration of musical landscapes, deep sea diving into liminal places for storytelling. It is sway, funk, blue flame. It is an ethereal electronic driven exploration rooted in a fusion of hip hop, r&b, soul and jazz.

Steam Down is an artist collective, weekly event and music community based in Deptford, South-East London.

Founded by Ahnanse in May 2017, Steam Down is comprised of Alex Rita, Brother Portrait, Sawa Manga, Theon Cross, Nadeem, Benjamin Appiah, Dominic Canning and Nache. Their weekly sessions are a magical explosion of Afrofuturism, grime and future soul, fused together with the spontaneity of jazz.

Previously having had guest appearances from the likes of Kamasi Washington, Sampa The Great, Nubya Garcia and Sons of Kemet, these exuberant congregations are an immersive musical experience for audiences, where healing vibes and compulsive dancing are just as important as the music.