SXSW Music Spotlight: Steam Down

Steam Down (Photo by Karolina Wielocha)

The London jazz community incubates one of the most exciting music scenes in the world – a soulful gestalt of bop, hip-hop, Afrobeat, EDM, Caribbean music, and more. Right in its heart stands Steam Down. With rising fame, dynamic performances, and a forthcoming LP, the collective headlines the Jazz Re:freshed Outernational showcase in celebration of the label’s 20th anniversary – despite not being strictly jazz.

“We fit in the far corner,” remarks mastermind Ahnansé about the group’s harmonically rich hip-hop and R&B. “But I also think we fit into jazz quite clearly.”

As with many of their peers, these musicians reflect London’s multicultural atmosphere, including the music these children of immigrants heard at home. “We’re part of a generation that is taking a chance,” asserts Ahnansé. “We embrace things of different cultural backgrounds. Most of us are first, maybe second generation here, and our parents are still connected to the countries that they came from. Their record collections influenced the music as a whole.”

Having worked in music education and played with SXSW exiles United Vibrations, Ahnansé founded Steam Down for specific reasons. “I wanted a place to perform regularly and explore sound,” he says in reference to the group’s weekly improvised concerts. “A place where other musicians on the scene could join us. I think that’s really important – musicians sharing space with each other without having the pressure of learning a bunch of songs.”

Crucially, Steam Down also provides “a place to really explore Afro-diasporic sound. Coming from the Caribbean, there’s a connection to West Africa and other parts. You’re aware of it because you feel it in the music. Afro American culture, too, because it flies in on the radio. There’s something about all those things coming together that inspires me. It all comes from that one source.”

Wed 15, 1am, Sellers Underground

Fri 17, 1am, British Music Embassy