Golden Mean

England's Golden Mean operate as an instrumental electric quartet whose original compositions blend jazz, fusion, funk, electronica, prog, and hip-hop into one groove-focused whole. The group's name references both the philosophical ideal of moderation between opposing poles and the mathematical constant known as the golden ratio. Assembled from players active in assorted London jazz-funk projects, Golden Mean excel at converting elaborate key signatures, chord sequences, rhythmic designs, modal choices, and formal designs from multiple traditions into coherent statements while retaining a strong pulse. Their 2020 debut EP Through Walls drew praise for its structural intelligence and crisp production. The 2023 album Oumuamua ventured further into elaborate, off-kilter frameworks, sharpening the cross-genre exchanges into direct dialogues among soloists, ensemble, and audience.

In early 2019 bassist Tom Driessler of Yusef Kamaal and guitarist Luke Wynter of Nubiyan Twist approached Emma-Jean Thackray's keyboardist Lyle Barton and session drummer Matt Davies. The four musicians formed a quartet to write, arrange, and perform new pieces rooted in the overlapping zones of fusion, contemporary jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, and electronica. After months of rehearsal they delivered a series of favorably received shows in South London. In July 2019 they spent three days at Oxfordshire's Henwood Studio with producer and mix engineer Tom Excell, completing the five-track, thirty-minute EP Through Walls. Jazz Re:Freshed issued the recording in January 2020; its buoyant rhythms and agile urban character connected with both critics and listeners. A planned U.K. and European tour was halted when the COVID-19 pandemic imposed widespread lockdowns at the end of February.

Once restrictions eased in 2021 the quartet resumed club performances in London and appeared at several festivals in England and on the continent that summer. In 2022 drummer Matt Davies stepped away to concentrate on session work and was replaced by Northern Irish composer and drummer Jamie Murray, whose résumé includes tenures with the Sun Ra Arkestra, David Binney, and Cecil Brooks as well as leadership of Beat Replacement and JZ Replacement. Jazz Re:Freshed returned the band to the studio in August 2022 with producer Lewis Moody, whose credits include Kylie Auldist and JK Group. The musicians composed on site and helped Moody shape the mixes for the seven tracks. Placing greater weight on harmonic and melodic content, the quartet released Oumuamua in May 2023, a full-length project whose sharper contours still reach wide audiences by drawing heavily on jazz-rock and prog resources.