Alfa Mist's newly-minted Sekito Records is another instance of a new UK micro-label – see Shabaka Hutchings’ Native Rebel, or Nick Walters’ D.O.T – formed as British musicians break out into the backroom.

And for the cool, limelight-shirking London pianist, shining even more light on his associates seems like the perfect next step. Following releases by Rudi Creswick and Jamie Leeming comes JSPHYNX, aka Johnny Woodham, the trumpeter of the moment for the jazz-leaning UK R&B crowd such as Ego Ella May, Mr Jukes, Tom Misch and Loyle Carner. Here, he teams up with another collaborator – the impressive Glaswegian trombonist/guitarist Liam Shortall, of corto.alto fame – for frontline duties on his debut LP.

Woodham began preparing for this album via loops built up during lockdown, which he brought to his bandmates, “to help add some meat to the bones of the tracks.” There's definitely some meaty playing on show – big, notey solo stints from Shortall and Woodham give this hunkered down jazz a vital dose of energy. Breaking out of the Rhodes-drenched sound comes not via formal quirks, but from leaning more into the loops and grooves.

The ever-curious Spaven guides the second half of the album through a range of UK dance music destinations, borrowing from bassline, drum and bass, and skippy broken beat, giving the second half a darker, more exploratory feel, and finding the perfect place to dig into in the future.