Ebi Soda

British quintet Ebi Soda appear to be a jazz group, but their music spills across several boundaries, incorporating dubby effects, funky basslines, and post-punk abrasiveness. They often juxtapose smooth riffs and atmospheric production with fractured rhythms and scorching solos, demonstrating tight musicianship as well as a freewheeling sense of anarchy. Making their debut with two EPs in 2019, their first professional recording, Ugh, appeared in 2020, followed by Honk If You're Sad in 2022.
Ebi Soda, the group’s self-titled first EP, appeared in March of 2019, quickly followed by Bedroom Tapes. Recorded in a small flat while the members were university students, both EPs were issued on vinyl by London’s Sola Terra Records, and the digital edition of Ebi Soda included dub remixes by Ash Walker. The band recorded their full-length debut over the course of a year, including their first proper studio productions. Ugh appeared in May of 2020, and like the band’s first two releases, it quickly sold out of its limited pressing. The band’s song “Dimmsdale” was included on Kaleidoscope (New Spirits Known & Unknown), Soul Jazz Records’ 2020 compilation of highlights from the thriving U.K. jazz scene. Ebi Soda signed to Tru Thoughts in 2021, and released the attention-grabbing single “Yoshi Orange,” as well as reissues of their two early EPs. Honk If You're Sad, their second album, arrived in April of 2022, including guest appearances by Yazz Ahmed, Deji Ijishakin, and Dan Gray. ~ Paul Simpson