Mike De Souza: “Electric Dodo”
Text for Gig Promoters
Contents:
Band line-up
Short Bio (150 words)
Long Bio (600 words)
Tech-spec
Band line-up
Mike De Souza - electric guitar
Tom Barford- tenor saxophone
Rick Simpson - piano, synths
Huw Williams - double bass
Jay Davis - drums
Short Bio (150 words)
Guitarist and composer Mike De Souza brings his quintet featuring Rick Simpson (piano/synth), Tom Barford (tenor sax), Huw V Williams (bass) and Jay Davis (drums) on tour to celebrate the release of Electric Dodo. Featuring some of the UK’s most distinctive improvisers, the band performs a set of original music that balances groove-driven momentum with expansive, textural interplay.
Blending acoustic instrumentation with electronics, De Souza’s writing moves between tightly woven riffs, open improvisation and spacious, atmospheric passages. Hints of alternative and indie sonics sit alongside a deeply rooted jazz improvisational language, creating music that feels both immediate and exploratory. Driven by strong melodic ideas and long-standing musical relationships within the group, the live show unfolds with clarity, intensity and a sense of collective discovery.
ALL ABOUT JAZZ ★★★★ UK VIBE ★★★★ MARLBANK ★★★★ THE JAZZ MANN ★★★★
“There’s such considered sound design. Every bar seems to open out into a new world” Soweto Kinch (BBC Radio 3)
“Burgeoning guitar talent” - Jazzwise Magazine
“De Souza's playing is always absorbing and engaging” - All About Jazz
Long Bio (600 words)
Guitarist and composer Mike De Souza presents Electric Dodo, a bold new chapter that expands his sonic world while building on the compositional identity established across his earlier releases. Recorded at Fish Factory Studios in summer 2024 with the support of a successful crowdfunding campaign, the album comprises 10 original tracks, including the five part suite Calibri Court, a ten minute work unfolding in episodic movements comparable to a modern jazz chamber piece.
Where his 2025 EP Schism centred on acoustic interplay and rhythmic elasticity, Electric Dodo leans more deliberately into electronic textures and layered production. Guitar pedals, synth patches and subtle overdubs broaden the palette, creating a sound world in which tightly constructed riffs coexist with ambient passages and expansive improvisation. The result is music that feels immersive and cinematic while remaining grounded in the spontaneity and risk taking language of jazz.
De Souza’s earlier album Chrysalis (Fresh Sound New Talent) received widespread critical acclaim, earning four star reviews from All About Jazz, UK Vibe, Marlbank and The Jazz Mann, alongside praise from BBC Radio 3 for its “considered sound design… every bar seems to open into a new world.” Across his catalogue, including Slow Burn, Road Fork, and Pond Life with Big Bad Wolf, ranked third in Jazzwise Magazine’s Top 10 Albums of the Year in 2017, De Souza has developed a reputation for detailed compositional thinking combined with strong melodic identity and ensemble focus.
A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and Leeds College of Music, De Souza has performed extensively across the UK and Europe. Appearances include major venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and Donau 115 in Berlin, alongside festival performances at Jazz Juniors in Kraków, Jazzwerkstatt in Graz, Radar Festival in Varna and Ni CaJazz! and EGA Jazz festivals in Northern Spain.
In 2021 he was a finalist in the International Jarek Śmietana Jazz Guitar Competition in Kraków. Alongside his work as a bandleader, he has collaborated with Byron Wallen, Alex Paxton, Phil Meadows, Joy Ellis, Belle Chen and Twospeak, and maintains a long standing residency at Grow in Hackney Wick with the band Stratos. Since 2020 he has also served as a jazz guitar tutor at Leeds Conservatoire.
For Electric Dodo, De Souza is joined by four of the UK’s most distinctive and in demand improvisers. Pianist and keyboardist Rick Simpson has performed with Christian Scott, Eric Harland, Joe Sanders and Stan Sulzmann, and is widely recognised for his releases Klammer and Everything All of the Time: Kid A Revisited. Tenor saxophonist Tom Barford first came to prominence after winning the Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize. His debut Bloomer was released by Edition in 2018 and was followed by Live at the Parakeet. He has performed with Billy Cobham and Gerald Cleaver, while co leading AuB and the Barford Copus Quintet. Drummer Jay Davis is an award winning composer and bandleader who has appeared internationally at venues and festivals including Umbria Jazz and the Bimhuis, and is highly sought after as a sideman on the UK jazz scene. Bassist Huw V Williams has collaborated with leading figures across contemporary and avant garde scenes, including Jim Black, Ivo Neame, Mark Lockheart and Laura Jurd.
Together, this quintet balances clarity of composition with collective responsiveness, long standing musical relationships and a shared appetite for exploration. On Electric Dodo, the band’s interplay is both focused and expansive, moving from driving riff led passages to spacious, textural episodes with fluid cohesion. The album captures a group operating at a creative high point, confident in its identity, open to experimentation and unafraid to blur the boundaries between acoustic jazz tradition and a more electric contemporary sound.
Tech-Spec
We are able to bring all required equipment for the performance as long as there is sufficient space and power sockets available. However, having the following supplied at the venue will help to improve the performing experience, and will help to reduce travel costs.
Recently tuned/serviced acoustic piano. Grand or Upright are fine. If not, we can bring an electric piano.
A manned PA system with monitoring. It can be helpful depending on the venue size to mic up the piano, and potentially other instruments. If a PA system is available, we would put the synth through front-of-house, otherwise we can bring a small amp for the synth, which will do the job.
Bass amp suitable for Double Bass amplification.
Fender Deluxe Reverb (or similar valve) guitar amp.
Jazz drum kit.
5 music stands.
