Binker Golding shares new single ‘… And I Like Your Feathers’

“Is Binker Golding the new Sonny Rollins? The new Coltrane? Or both?”
– MOJO

Binker Golding is a musician of many talents: skilled composer, educator at Tomorrow’s Warriors and frequent collaborator with top musicians from the London jazz scene.

Born and raised in North London, Golding has recorded and performed regularly with the city’s finest; Zara McFarlane, Moses Boyd’s Exodus, Sarah Tandy and Maisha amongst others. He has learned from and played alongside many great saxophonists including Steve Williamson, Jason Yarde, Denis Baptiste and Gilad Atzmon. An all-rounder musician, he is the Musical Director of the Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Orchestra and has composed concert repertoire and conducted the Nu Civilisation Orchestra.

His main projects include the free jazz duo Binker & Moses. The pair scooped up a MOBO award for their debut album ‘Dem Ones’ (2015) as well as two Jazz FM awards and a Parliamentary Jazz award. Their subsequent album ‘Journey To The Mountain Of Forever’ was voted #1 Urban Album of the Year by MOJO magazine in 2017 (beating Loyle Carner and Kendrick Lamar). The inimitable line-up behind the album includes the legend Evan Parker, tabla player Sarathy Korwar, and drummer Yussef Dayes amongst others. Their memorable album launch performance at Total Refreshment Centre also became the live album ‘Alive in the East?’ (voted #2 Jazz Album of the Year by Mojo in 2018).

Not one to pigeon-hole himself, Golding’s last experimental project with Elliot Galvin produced the live album ‘Ex Nihilo’, which duly stretches the boundaries of improvised music and was described by the London Evening Standard as “smashing convention and revelling in raw avant-gardism.”

Golding’s new album “Abstractions of Reality Past & Incredible Feathers” was recorded at Abbey Road, mixed by the legendary James Farber (Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, Brad Mehldau), and mastered at Gearbox Records. The record features a distinctive quartet with Joe Armon-Jones on piano, Daniel Casimir on double bass, and Sam Jones on drums. On the new album, Golding’s quartet navigates a reflective path by exploring and honouring the pioneering 60s/70s sounds that paved the way for that same style of innovation that can be seen across today’s jazz climate. Merging through-composed jazz fusion of previous decades and the hip hop/broken beat-influenced sound of the contemporary London jazz scene.

The record also explores the same nostalgic themes on a personal level. Speaking about the album, Golding says, “It’s about experiences I had throughout my teenage years & twenties. It’s about remembering, forgetting, thinking you’ve forgotten & remembering again. It’s about people & friends that you’ll never see again & times that you can’t go back to, so you have to settle for the memory of them instead, whilst holding on to some hope for the future.”

Binker Golding has long been a key proponent of the guiding ship in London jazz. This new album explores the roots of the music being celebrated so widely at present, whilst also creating something entirely new. In some ways you could say that this extends his practice of teaching which has been such a big part of his life and musical career. However, firstly and fore-mostly, this is Golding stepping out and making his mark whilst looking back at the experiences and music that have brought him to where he is today.