Snazzback

Originating in Bristol, the British city renowned for its outsized role in shaping underground sounds, Snazzback formed as a seven-piece collective that anchors itself in jazz yet readily incorporates hip-hop and further stylistic detours. Their releases have showcased an ever-changing lineup of vocalists across In the Place (2021), Ruins Everything (2023), and Within and Without (2024), while their polished live approach has carried them from packed hometown clubs to the Glastonbury Festival stage.

The founding lineup—Dave Sanders on alto saxophone, Alphie Grieve on trumpet, Eli Jitsuto on guitar, Richard Allen on bass, Chris Langton on drums, Myke Vince on percussion, and Hal Sutherland on keyboards—emerged from Bristol’s storied late-’80s and early-’90s legacy of trip-hop and drum’n’bass acts. Snazzback supplied a more analog counterpart to that earlier wave, uniting first through street performances before securing a residency at The Gallimaufry and issuing their 2018 debut album Hedge, which spotlighted unhurried, inviting arrangements built around improvised brass, hypnotic rhythms, and the hip-hop/neo-soul contributions of fellow Bristolite China Bowls.

Following a pandemic-era rooftop session at The Gallimaufry issued in 2020 as “Koch Loch” in tribute to owner James Koch, the group reemerged with In the Place in 2021, displaying sharper compositional focus and an expanded roster of guest vocalists that included Bowls alongside Solomon O.B., Soss, and Bethany Stenning. Their 2023 album Ruins Everything, the first to feature replacement bassist Will Scott-Harley, introduced another set of collaborators—Adam Kammerling, Groves, and t l k—and leaned further into propulsive, dancefloor-oriented grooves. A year after their acclaimed Glastonbury appearance supporting Groves and grime rapper Flowdan, Snazzback delivered the conceptual 2024 EP Within and Without, which enlisted additional emcees Rider Shafique, Francis Mott, and Sol ChYld to deliver verses centered on themes of conflict.