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Jeff Mills, Neue Grafik, Prabhu Edouard and Knoel Scott talk about improvisational performance, rhythms as a form of communication and how technology is overtaking the artist.

Jeff Mills started out on the Detroit techno scene in the 1980s before founding Underground Resistance with ‘Mad’ Mike Banks in 1989. He left Detroit for New York in 1991 (via a residency at Berlin’s mighty Tresor), to pursue a solo career and set up his own label, Axis. Since then, he’s released a number of projects, including two volumes of Waveform Transmissions for Tresor; 2005’s Blue Potential, a live album recorded with the 70-piece Montpelier Philharmonic Orchestra; and a new soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s 1926 film Metropolis in 2000. In 2018, he set up the Afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest with the late Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and has been making music and performing with the collective ever since.

Neue Grafik is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist making a truly unique sound. Blending hip-hop, jazz and house, his music draws a map between his African heritage, time in Paris and love of London’s grime scene. Forming the Neue Grafik Ensemble at an after-hours jam session at London’s Total Refreshment Centre, he’s established himself as formidable force in the world of jazz.

Indo-French percussionist and composer Prabhu Edouard is recognised as one of the most versatile tabla players of his generation. A student of the legendary Pandit Shankar Ghosh, he’s collaborated with artists from around the world including Jean-Pierre Drouet and Laxmi Shankar, and is part of the afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble Tomorrow Comes The Harvest.

Knoel Scott is an American saxophonist and composer best known for his time with jazz collective Sun Ra Arkestra. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he’s worked alongside jazz greats including Lou Donaldson and Leon Thomas. Most recently, he’s released his first major studio album, Celestial with long time collaborator Marshall Allen.