Executive Overview
The crucible of modern London jazz produced few phenomena as incendiary, disruptive, and genre-defying as The Comet Is Coming. Comprising the visionary talents of saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, synthesizer wizard Dan Leavers (Danalogue), and percussionist Max Hallett (Betamax), the trio emerged not merely as a band, but as a cosmic force. Now, looking back at the formative half-decade that launched them into international acclaim, the group has announced the definitive anthology of their early material.
Due on November 20 via The Leaf Label, Exploding In Slow Motion: The Complete Channel The Spirits Recordings 2013-2017CE serves as a massive, comprehensive monument to the band’s inception. This expansive collection pulls together the threads of their Mercury Prize-shortlisted debut studio album, Channel The Spirits, alongside the hard-to-find EPs Prophecy and Death To The Planet. Crucially for completists and casual fans alike, the package is stacked with archival treasures, including four previously unreleased tracks, rare session recordings, and live renditions that capture the raw, sweaty euphoria of their early club days.
To herald the announcement, the band has unspooled "Late Night Party Jam 2"—a hypnotic, newly rediscovered artifact unearthed from the very first recording sessions at the legendary Total Refreshment Centre back in 2013. As the contemporary music landscape continues to grapple with the seismic shifts initiated by Hutchings, Leavers, and Hallett, this retrospective offers a timely reminder of how a spontaneous jam session in a Hackney basement grew into an unstoppable voyage across the galaxy.
Detailed Chronology: From Total Refreshment Centre to the Cosmos
The saga of The Comet Is Coming began as a happy accident, born out of the collaborative, boundary-pushing atmosphere of London’s underground music community. In 2013, Shabaka Hutchings—already a rising luminary in the UK jazz scene—happened to jump on stage during a set by Soccer96, the electronic-leaning duo of Dan Leavers and Max Hallett, at the Total Refreshment Centre.
The chemistry was instantaneous and undeniable. Recognizing a rare, lightning-in-a-bottle synergy, the three musicians immediately migrated to the venue’s in-house studio to explore the parameters of their impromptu collaboration. What transpired over the next few days defied all expectations. Working with an intuitive, fearless momentum, they laid down the structural bones of what would become their signature sound—a dizzying synthesis of acoustic saxophone and unbridled, analog synth-punk energy.
"It was only supposed to be a demo," reflects Max Hallett on those initial, adrenaline-fueled sessions. "But we came to realise we had made our first album before we had even decided we were a band."
Rather than overthinking their identity or straining to fit into pre-existing commercial boxes, the trio leaned heavily into the spontaneous, live-to-tape ethos that defined the Total Refreshment Centre. These early experiments yielded Channel The Spirits, a landmark 2016 full-length release that rattled the foundations of the British music establishment. The record was a critical triumph, ultimately earning a prestigious Mercury Prize shortlist nomination and signaling to the wider world that jazz in the UK was undergoing a thrilling, explosive renaissance.
Over the next four years, the band refused to rest on their laurels. They expanded their sonic universe through the 2015 EP Prophecy and the blistering 2017 EP Death To The Planet. These releases cemented their reputation as sonic alchemists, capable of weaving dense, atmospheric narratives that felt simultaneously ancient and futuristic. Now, Exploding In Slow Motion neatly boxes this golden era, framing the 2013–2017 period as a cohesive, epoch-defining chapter in modern music history.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Deconstructing the Sonic Alchemy
To understand the enduring impact of Exploding In Slow Motion, one must examine the eclectic sonic palette that The Comet Is Coming forged during their formative years. Their music resisted easy categorization, existing in a liminal space where traditional genre boundaries dissolved entirely.
At its core, their sound was an explosive collision of free jazz—steeped in the spiritual tradition of John Coltrane and Sun Ra—and the raw, physical urgency of afrobeat. Yet, what truly set them apart was their fluent integration of bleeding-edge electronica, psychedelic rock textures, and heavy, unearthly dub sound system weights.
Dan Leavers points out that this stylistic freedom was entirely intentional, born from a desire to create art devoid of outside commercial pressure or genre constraints. "It was the album where we really let rip," Leavers notes. "Genuinely, every decision we made was to make the coolest fucking record we could imagine, not thinking of any scene, genre, record label, album review or outside voice of any kind."
This uncompromising artistic vision translated into a rigorous touring schedule and an extensive discography. The upcoming box set reflects this prolific output by organizing the era across multiple distinct chapters:
- The Debut Core: The original Mercury Prize-shortlisted Channel The Spirits LP forms the bedrock of the collection.
- The EPs: Essential companion pieces Prophecy and Death To The Planet capture the band’s evolving studio wizardry and aggressive rhythmic explorations.
- The Rarities and Vault Discoveries: Featuring cuts like "Late Night Party Jam 2," physical vinyl debuts such as "Slammin," "Transmission," and "Closing Credits" (previously restricted to digital or limited runs), and essential radio sessions.
Furthermore, the release highlights the band’s formidable live prowess—a vital element of their identity. Included in the package are unreleased live renditions of fan favorites "Final Eclipse" and "Space Carnival," alongside a blistering session version of "Neon Baby" recorded exclusively for John Kennedy’s XFM radio show.
Available across digital platforms, standard CD, cassette, and a series of meticulously curated limited vinyl variants, Exploding In Slow Motion is designed to satisfy both dedicated physical collectors and streaming-era enthusiasts.
Official Statements & Archival Unearthing
The announcement of Exploding In Slow Motion brings with it a wave of nostalgia and critical reappraisal from the band members themselves. As they sift through the master tapes and rough demos of a decade ago, the sheer improbability of their journey comes sharply into focus.
The vanguard of this archival excavation is "Late Night Party Jam 2," which dropped today as the lead preview track. Unearthed from the very first batch of magnetic tape recordings ever made by the trio at the Total Refreshment Centre in 2013, the track is a masterclass in organic improvisation. It captures the exact moment Hutchings, Leavers, and Hallett crossed the threshold from separate musical entities into a unified collective consciousness. The track pulses with an urgent, nocturnal energy, blending loose, tumbling drum patterns with searing saxophone lines and warm, analog synthesizer drones that sound as fresh today as they did in the dead of that 2013 Hackney winter.
For Max Hallett, looking back at these sessions evokes a sense of wonder at how rapidly their creative ecosystem materialized. "We didn’t sit down in a boardroom and map out a career trajectory," Hallett has noted of the era. "We just responded to the acoustics of the room, the gear we had plugged in, and the collective energy in the air. The music happened to us rather than the other way around."
The inclusion of historically significant radio sessions—such as the XFM X-Posure session for John Kennedy—adds a crucial layer of authenticity. These live-in-the-studio broadcasts demonstrate that the band’s ferocious, telepathic interplay was not merely the product of studio trickery, but a natural state of being whenever the three musicians occupied the same acoustic space.
Future Outlook: The Legacy of a Cosmic Era
As fans prepare to dive into the expansive universe of Exploding In Slow Motion: The Complete Channel The Spirits Recordings 2013-2017CE, the release prompts a broader reflection on the trajectory of modern improvised music.
While individual members of The Comet Is Coming have since pursued diverse, critically lauded paths—with Shabaka Hutchings notably shifting his focus toward flute and global acoustic traditions following the band’s hiatus—the cultural footprint they left behind remains indelible. They proved definitively that instrumental music, rooted in the esoteric traditions of jazz and electronica, could capture the imaginations of mainstream audiences without compromising an ounce of its avant-garde integrity.
The release of these early recordings on November 20 via The Leaf Label does more than simply feed the demand for collector’s items. It acts as a historical marker, preserving a vital chapter of 21st-century music history in amber. For a new generation of musicians discovering the intersection of jazz improvisation and electronic sound design, Exploding In Slow Motion will undoubtedly serve as a masterclass, a blueprint, and a source of boundless inspiration.
The comet may have completed its initial trajectory across the skies, but with this definitive collection, its blinding light continues to echo across the cosmos.
Tracklist Overview
Side A: Channel The Spirits
- "The Prophecy"
- "Space Carnival"
- "Journey Through The Asteroid Belt"
- "Nano"
- "New Age"
- "Slam Dunk In A Black Hole"
Side B: Channel The Spirits
- "Cosmic Dust"
- "Star Furnace"
- "Channel The Spirits"
- "Deep Within The Engine Deck"
- "Lightyears" (feat. Joshua Idehen)
- "End of Earth"
Side C: Prophecy
- "Neon Baby"
- "Star Exploding In Slow Motion"
- "Do The Milky Way"
- "Cosmic Serpent"
- "Final Days Of The Apocalypse" (feat. Joshua Idehen)
Side D: The Ancient Tapes
- "Late Night Party Jam 2" [Previously Unreleased]
- "Slammin" [First Time on Vinyl]
- "Transmission" [First Time on Vinyl]
- "Closing Credits" [First Time on Vinyl]
Side E: Death To The Planet
- "Start Running"
- "Final Eclipse" (Full Version)
- "March Of The Rising Sun"
Side F: Death To The Planet + Live Archives
- "Ascension"
- "Neon Baby" (John Kennedy X-Posure Xfm Session) [Previously Unreleased]
- "Final Eclipse" (Live) [Previously Unreleased]
- "Space Carnival" (Live) [Previously Unreleased]
