The meandering noir jazz morsel that is 'The Crypto Shuffle' toes a balance between groove and chaos, organised structures and freeform forays into the abyss. Though it's kind of the saxophones that steal the show here, fluttering and squealing and smooth caramel all at once, the track comes from the the mind of drummer amd band leader Ruud Voesten, who says it's "about the capital sin of greed".
Ultimately it follows a concept of setting Dante's Inferno to music, this being the portion occupied by greedy people "who constantly bicker" with each other, as exemplified by rapid-fire frustrated feeling in the duelling saxophones, played by Mo van der Does (alto) and Wietse Voermans (tenor).
To lead his third single through this capitalistic subject matter, Voesten channels his stream of percussion, a successive fluid parade of ghostly liquid knocks and taps that tumble alongside a satisfying buzz and twang of bass. Ultimately, like I said, saxophone rules 'The Crypto Shuffle', being given ample space to wander, but perhaps that's a reflection of the "greed" that inspired the track - more, more, more - and it's a banger beacuse of it.
- 🔔 'The Crypto Shuffle' is taken from a forthcoming Dante-inspired album. It's set for release later this month on Nethelands indie jazz label ZenneZ Records.
