South East London drummer, producer, bandleader and DJ Mackwood has released his Tru Thoughts debut single ‘Sammy’, a collision of jazz fusion, grime, bruk and bass music that he describes as “Future Jazz, born in the dance.” The digital single (TRUDD728) arrived on Tuesday 8 September and is available to stream now.
Named after close friend and guest saxophonist Sam Norris, the track also features Jay Verma on keys and Laurence Wilkins on trumpet. Together they treat the record like part jam session, part instrumental grime riddim and part late night heater, with shifting moods, evolving arrangements and recurring motifs running from start to finish.
Mackwood played London’s Ronnie Scott’s on 13 August ahead of the official release. He now takes the live show to The Social on 21 September, supporting Fast Money Music, before a Kings Place date on 21 November as part of EFG London Jazz Festival.
“This track feels like all of London at once,” Mackwood says. “I’ve seen people skank to it live, I’ve had MC’s shell on it at jams, I’ve watched people go introspective to it with headphones on. Excited to see what other ways it finds people.”
The idea was simple: put a hard edged jazz horn inside the framework of a club record. Drawing from XL and Hyperdub while staying rooted in the city’s own musical identity, Mackwood is chasing the space between jazz finesse and bass pressure, with live playing and digital production sharing the same track. “In conversation with a friend recently, they described experiencing a “triple nostalgia” in London, nostalgia, FOMO, and loneliness, despite being so close to so many people. You got all these histories side by side which is beautiful, but also kinda haunting…interested in music that joins some of those dots.”
Working from Onehand Studios in Hoxton, he combined live bass and keyboards with software synthesis, drawing a clearer line between his roles as player and producer. That shift revisits the techniques that first pulled him into making music, letting each side of the process stand on its own.
‘Sammy’ arrives after years as one of London’s more distinctive player producers. He has cut his teeth alongside Col3trane, ELIZA and Jim Legxacy, come up through Silhouettes Project and Levitation Orchestra, and session drummed for Theon Cross. Resident Advisor has called him “one of the London jazz scene’s rising stars,” Clash labelled him “UK Music’s Best Kept Secret,” and Rolling Stone said debut album Master Changes “funnels all this knowledge alongside an exploratory spirit into music that traverses jazz, rap and beyond.”
Music was around him from the start. He was raised on rare groove, soul and the UK electronic underground, with parents who were, in his words, effectively “DJing” at him. His mother was part of the Boy’s Own crew, while his grandmother, involved with the ANC in South Africa during apartheid, regularly saw artists including Hugh Masekela. He started on djembe and piano before drums took over at West London’s Rhythm Studio, where Katalyst, IG Culture and Afronaut drifted in from a neighbouring room.
Recent stages include Glastonbury, We Out Here, Wilderness, Brick Lane Jazz Festival, the Royal Albert Hall and the Jazz Café. Radio support has come from Jazz FM, Don Letts, Stuart Maconie, Huey Morgan and Deb Grant on BBC 6 Music, Jamie Cullum on BBC Radio 2, Round Midnight on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 1Xtra, NTS Radio, Rinse FM, Soho Radio and WWFM. Tru Thoughts heard the music through BandLab Technologies (BandLab/ReverbNation) via an Opportunities artist submission campaign, and BandLab/ReverbNation are supporting the release.
Live dates
- 21 September 2026: The Social, London, supporting Fast Money Music
- 21 November 2026: Kings Place, EFG London Jazz Festival
Image credits: Alice Palm
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