The Leeds jazz scene is the gift that keeps on giving. From the dub-leaning ambience of Submotion Orchestra through to the afro-jazz fusion of Nubiyan Twist and TC & The Groove Family, a multi-generational lineage has emerged. Adding yet another page to the eclectic story of jazz from the city, emerging punk-jazz upstarts Plantfood announce the imminent arrival of their debut album ‘Carnivores’ on Friday 4th October via Bridge The Gap.

Consisting of JJ Petrie (percussion), Ruben Maric (keyboards), Joe van der Meulen (tenor saxophone), Woolley (baritone saxophone), Finn Hamilton (drums) and Woody Hayden (bass), Plantfood began in the throes of lockdown, during which all the members lived together. The group spent day after day sharing their eclectic music tastes, ranging from the electronic punk of The Prodigy and art-rock of Black Country New Road, through to the jazz dance of Steam Down and The Comet Is Coming. Taking these influences, they crafted their own sound, but without live shows, their only audience was the plants in their rehearsal room: “We called the band Plantfood because we were writing and rehearsing in one of our bedrooms which was full of house plants. The plants kind of became our only audience, so it was like the music was food for the plants.”

The band’s debut album ‘Carnivores’, plays on this theme, referring to the plants as carnivores for consuming the bands music, whilst also reflecting the apocalyptic palette of sounds and chaos found within the record. However, mirroring the dynamism of a Plantfood live show, the album is anything but one-dimensional. The group expertly balance moments of serenity and vulnerability with cataclysmic urgency, all brought together under the guidance of producer David Haynes (TC & The Groove Family, Nubiyan Twist).

The group share: “The album’s moments of vulnerability and hope are intended as the depiction of a return-to- earth theme (circle of life, growth and decay), reflecting that the cycle of nature is not simply destructive. ”The project’s lead single ‘Y.U.S.’ drew praise from tastemakers including Jamz Supernova on BBC Radio 6, with the track featuring the talents of UK-Palestinian MC Yung Yusuf, a serial collaborator who also appears on album closer ‘Monstera’. Both tracks channel Plantfood’s explosive live energy into a blend of afro-latin rhythms and broken grooves, with the distinctive blend of tenor and baritone saxophone weaving in and out of grime-leaning, poetic exchanges with Yusuf.

Elsewhere, the second single from the project ‘Birdgang Pt. II’ is a fresh take on the band’s contemporary jazz sound, blending jazz, Balkan folk and Moroccan rhythms with a punk edge.

The album’s title track resets the balance, soothing the soul through a swirling approach to spiritual jazz that wouldn’t be amiss amongst the Gondwana Records catalogue.

Plantfood sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

The group that became Plantfood started playing music by jamming as a group of mates at Leeds Conservatoire, playing latin/afrobeat and jazz music, shortly before the COVID pandemic.

Plantfood started properly in lockdown, continuing with the jams whenever we could, and slowly writing music together. The music that we wrote in this time came from an undiluted distillation of our diverse musical influences. There was no audience and there were no gigs at this time so the kind of music that we wrote was strictly for our own enjoyment, hence our development in such a unique and genre-diverse direction.

Once lockdown restrictions were lifted to the point that we could play our first gig, we were dropped headfirst into a crowd that was as desperate to watch live music as we were to play, and this springboarded our early growth toward taking the project in a more professional direction. We realised suddenly that what we had written had some potential, and the engagement with the live environment also shifted our musical direction since we also realised how amazing it is having people dancing, moshing and singing along to the tunes. So from there our strange brew of influences became infused with electric live energy, which took us basically to where we are today.

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

When we first started we wanted more of an afrobeat/ UK jazz sound and our biggest influences were artists such as Ezra Collective, Nubiyan twist and Nubya Garcia. However now we have gone down a more heavy progressive route after being really inspired by Tigran Hamasyan and electronic artists like The Prodigy.

We are so lucky to have featured the amazing MC Yung Yusuf on our debut album Carnivores. Yung Yusuf is a Palestinian - British rapper whose music brings attention to the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza. We stand strong with him on this message and can't wait to work with him again on our next project. Yung Yusuf is releasing his next album Solaris on 10th of November.

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

We have just released our debut album Carnivores and started our album tour. We’ll be hitting up Leeds, York, Halifax, Sheffield, London and maybe a couple more too!

We are looking forward to having a period to take a little break over the winter and then really getting back to writing some new music.

4. How would you describe your sound?

Our sound is very eclectic and all about contrast. Our aim with our music is to take people on a journey with spiritual, euphoric highs and heavy, apocalyptic breakdowns.

What makes Plantfood special is that it is a true collective in that we all have equal creative responsibility for the music. Because of this we have a very unique sound coming from a wide range of influences, be that Afro-Cuban, drum and bass, contemporary classical or Balkan Folk.

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as a band?

Definitely our biggest achievement is our debut album ‘Carnivores’. Putting everything together and securing funding all independently has been way harder than we thought. We owe so much to Help Musicians and the Drake Yolanda Award for supporting our project. Institutions like these are what make independent music in the UK possible and without them, Plantfood, along with so many other bands would not be able to operate.

Closing out the Croissant Neuf stage at Glastonbury in 2023 was a really Euphoric moment for us as a band, we never thought we would have made it to that point when the band started as a jam session in Leeds Conservatoire.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Start a band with your best mates, and play the music that you love.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

Dub Duo Omega Nebula were one of our stand out discoveries from Shambala festival this year. They brought so much energy to their set and their mix of dub, dubstep and reggae blew us all away!

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

TC and the Groove Family’s latest EP ‘We Have Each Other’ is often our soundtrack of choice whilst we’ve been making our way to gigs recently.  The message of the EP of unity and standing together strongly resonates with us. With tracks such as Wile Out and Blessed getting us hyped up to play.

Arwāḥ Ḥurrah by Sarāb is another favourite of ours amongst the band. Their mix of jazz, traditional arabic music and metal has been particularly influential on us as we’ve been exploring some darker heavier sounds.

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

We love Bowling. Half-price Tuesday nights at Tenpin in Leeds are unreal.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

Our producer, Engineer and guardian angel, David Haynes, a massage gun and Juggling Balls.