Nathan Haines

Born in New Zealand, the jazz musician entered the musical scene early thanks to his father, the respected bassist Kevin Haines. After classical studies on flute and saxophone, he relocated to New York in 1991 for jazz training, working one-on-one with saxophonist George Coleman. His initial fusion of dance music and jazz occurred alongside Groove Collective during the city’s Giant Step nights. Upon returning home, he issued his acid jazz-inspired debut album Shift Left in 1995; an ensemble that included his guitarist brother Joel recorded the project, which soon ranked as the nation’s all-time bestselling jazz release.

In the mid-90s he settled in London and began collaborating with drum ‘n’ bass producer A-Sides. Under the alias Sci-Clone he placed singles on Goldie’s Metalheadz imprint in 1996. Those releases prompted him to launch the club night Bemsha! at the Notting Hill Arts Club, where live performances merged with DJ sets by Patrick Forge and Phil Asher. Asher soon became his production partner; after contributing to numerous Asher remixes, the pair created Sound Travels. Issued by Chillifunk Records in 2001, the cool nu jazz album featured the club hit Earth Is The Place. Backing from Kenny Dope Gonzalez and Little Louie Vega led Haines to New York for a remix session with the duo. He rejoined Asher to cut the 2003 follow-up Squire For Hire, which showcased guest vocals from Marlena Shaw and Blur’s Damon Albarn among others while shifting fluidly between Frank Sinatra-style lounge and the forward-thinking nu jazz associated with Gilles Peterson and 4 Hero.