About Lydian Collective
‘Lydian Collective make genre-crashing, boundary-smashing music seem effortless’
- CLASH MAGAZINE
‘Life affirming music’
- Nick Luscombe BBC Radio 3
With over 4 million Spotify streams and more than 1.8 million YouTube views, London-based instrumental jazz/fusion four-piece Lydian Collective are proving themselves a musical tour de force in the UK and beyond.
Their debut album ‘Adventure’ released on digital, CD and vinyl in March 2018. Within days, it reached the top 10 in the iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Bandcamp Jazz charts, and had extensive official playlisting on several Spotify editorial favourites, including State of Jazz, Fusion Fest, and Jazz UK. BBC Radio 3’s Nick Luscombe called the album ‘Life affirming music’.
The Lydian Collective sound is a unique combination of accessible melodies, accomplished musicianship, hypnotic rhythms and an uplifting vibe, which has already been drawing in audiences from around the world.
The millions who follow the band’s online channels include fans from as far afield as the USA, China and Japan – with a healthy following on home ground as well, through early support from the likes of Tom Robinson at BBC6Music.
Having played at some of the most prominent venues in the UK and Europe – including Ronnie Scott’s, Jazz Café London (supporting the legendary Billy Cobham), London Jazz Festival, Royal Festival Hall, Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Shambala Festival, Secret Garden Party, So What’s Next? Festival Eindhoven, 606 Club, Camden Assembly and Union Chapel – Lydian Collective show no signs of slowing down. 2019’s highlights included taking to the Main Jazz Arena Stage at Cheltenham Jazz Fest, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime performance with the 85-piece Capital Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, where the band’s music was especially arranged for a full ensemble.
In 2018, ‘High 555’ pushed the boundary lines of jazz fusion into an energetic, danceable groove whilst still delivering the compelling infectious melodies that L/C fans have come to love. The single has had more than 300k streams on Spotify.
The magical track ‘Out Of The Woods’ is the first single from L/C’s forthcoming second album, and features the ancient Scandinavian instrument - the nyckelharpa - played by Lucie Treacher. Taking the Collective’s trademark jazz-fusion sound, and marrying it with celtic/scandi folk vibes, ‘Out Of The Woods’ creates a mystical journey full of energy and wonder. In its first month of release, it had more than 20,000 Spotify streams.
2020 also saw the release of official sheet music and backing tracks for ‘Adventure’, which are available to purchase here.
The band’s second album - ‘Return’ - released in October 2022 to wide acclaim. Within two weeks it had amassed over 500,000 streams on Spotify alone, and their launch show at the legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club sold out.
Lydian Collective are:
Aaron Wheeler (keys)
Ida Hollis (bass)
Todd Baker (guitar)
Sophie Alloway (drums)
Biography in detail
An early cameo appearance for the band was on the soundtrack album to Monument Valley 2 - www.monumentvalleygame.com. MV2 is a major game release on the iOS platform, developed and marketed by ustwo, with millions of users around the world. Todd Baker, the band’s guitarist, wrote the entire soundtrack to the game, and the recording of his track “Child” is a key moment on the soundtrack.
Aaron Wheeler and Todd Baker are the creative minds behind the band’s sound. Both have found success as commercial composers, but they first met at college – where a love of music was their bond. Aaron’s electronica work as The Laszlo Project also has a successful life of its own, with his track “Mr Sunshine” currently sitting at over 850,000 streams on Spotify (you can check out a version of this track on Lydian Collective’s album). The compositions played by the band arose out of a difficult period in Aaron’s life when a back injury confined him to his sofa for many months. The pure and playful melodies which arose, and appear in the band’s music were part of his long recovery.
Sophie Alloway is one of London’s most in-demand drummers, and she is first call for a host of high profile artists. She toured for 2 years with Roots Manuva, around UK, Australia and New Zealand – appearing with him at festivals, on TV and at awards ceremonies. Her other credits include Afrobeat legend Tony Allen; pop/punk singer Hazel Thomas and UK jazz star Jason Rebello.
Ida Hollis - Ida studied Jazz at Birmingham Conservatoire and has played alongside some of the UK's finest musicians including Gwilym Simcock and Tate Britain artist in residence Tim Whitehead. She has performed at prestigious venues such as Ronnie Scott's, the 606 Jazz Club, Birmingham Symphony Hall and at Glastonbury, Latitude and Cheltenham Jazz festivals.