Edinburgh Producer Jaisu Is All Dusty Saxophone Vibes On “Maximus”

Edinburgh producer Jaisu conjures up a fleeting moment of relaxed contemplation on "Maximus," from his forthcoming new album, A Long Player. This slice of instrumental hip-hop is only a whisker over a minute and a half long, but those winking saxophone and circling cymbals hold our attention like specks of dust lit up in a ray of sunlight.

"'Maximus' is a cold four bars and a warm eight bars," Jaisu told The FADER. "The champagne flute is half-full. I was probably inspired by Ab-Soul's 'Control System' and Kendrick's 'Section 80' around the time this was made, which was a year or so even before the release of A Short Album. Some of the beats on those records had me thinking about using more stuff like Rhodes and sax, but taken away from the boom-bap, 92BPM sort of thing. When I was putting A Long Player together, I felt 'Maximus' fit with the vibe that I'd been creating; it didn't feel like just any token old beat. It's like Bobby Caldwell performing 'What You Won't Do For Love' live and featuring ET on the theremin or something." Astral Black will release Jaisu's A Long Player on April 27th on 12-inch vinyl, and digitally on May 4th. Pre-order it here.

Photo credit: Kirstin Kerr