It’s been a while since we’ve heard from TC & The Groove Family but you can’t keep a good collective down. Led by drummer Tim Cook (TC) and based around players who originally crossed paths in Leeds, the band’s 2022 debut ‘First Home’ (reviewed in BSM HERE) made a sizeable dent in the listening schedules. Here was a young jazz ensemble with a rootsy, dance-centric outlook, diving into the UK scene with their afrobeat directness and hip-hop fluidity.
Since that time their geographies have shifted as people moved on and moved out but the TC & the Groove Family spirit remained intact. To prove that point we now have the announcement of a pulsating new EP ‘We Have Each Other’, out via Bridge The Gap on 7th June. With core members still contributing, Tom Excell (of Nubiyan Twist/Onipa) again producing and Sheffield based rap fusionist Franz Von returning on vocals and lyrical messaging, it might suggest the band’s new music is consolidating, but that’s not the full story. Nubiyan Twist’s vocalist Aziza Jaye brings dynamism and MC SANITY distinctive jabbing rhymes to ‘We Have Each Other’, reinforcing the EP’s harder musical edge and powerful community driven messaging.
Preview track ‘Stand Strong’ highlights such progression. A popping bass line with a fine Cymande flow, grip tight brass-lines and drums rolling with purpose make for the full foundation but from there things gear up further. Hannah-Mae Birtwell’s roaring sax solo, those searing Steely Dan-ish guitar fills and Franz Von’s assertive rhymes capture the band’s new urgency. As the MC calls out ‘Stand Firm! Stand Strong!’ you need no more convincing.
Pre-order your copy of ‘We Have Each Other’ by TC & The Groove Family HERE
Catch TC & The Groove Family Live in the UK at:
24.05 – Elderflower Fields Festival
30.05 – Band On The Wall, Manchester
31.05 – Brewery Arts, Kendall
01.06 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
02.06 – The Crescent, York
06.06 – Jam Jar, Bristol
07.06 – The Jazz Café, London
14.06 – Yellow Arch, Sheffield
