Sweet Water / Drifting

The double A-side single is the second release from Seven Wonders – Plug Seven Records and Wondercore Island's forthcoming compilation capturing the raw energy and virtuosity of Australia's vital, and irrepressible jazz and groove-led music scene.

It features 'Sweet Water' from acclaimed Melbourne, by way of New York, jazz pianist and composer Barney McAll; and 'Drifting' by the city's ground-breaking Jazz crew 30/70 Collective – the vanguard of the Melbourne future jazz scene on the international stage.

McAll's track is a synthesis of global influences. On 'Sweet Water' he incorporates classic Rhodes keys, Moroccan castanets, and on the track's hook, bulbul tarang – a string instrument from India and Pakistan derived from the Japanese taishōgoto harp. These diverse influences are bolstered by McAll's experiences travelling in Cuba where he discovered the regional Santería faith and its sacred batá drums, played here by Javier Fredes.

30/70 Collective's track "Drifting" begins with horns that rise like mist off a frozen canal. Clipped synthesizer fragments pop and fizzle like flashes of spring rain on freshly warmed concrete. It's taught and anxious but also filled with the excitement of impending change.