After forming as a free-improvising group at basement house parties in Leeds' Hyde Park, the band started rehearsing and composing before recording and self-releasing their All Our Heroes Are Dead EP in July 2018.
This led to more shows and soon the band settled on a line-up of Ben Powling on tenor saxophone, Matías Reed on bass guitar alongside Luke Reddin-Williams and Charlie Grimwood on drums.
[1][2] During this period Powling and Reed wrote the material for Vipertime's debut album Shakedown, drawing on the influences of Mulatu Astatke, Pharoah Sanders and Gang Of Four as well as their peers in the current UK jazz scene.
The EP was recorded at the eponymous festival the previous September and "bares the ferocity, abandon and razor-sharp senses of the band’s live performance".
[8][9] The album includes guest appearances from Jasmine Myra (Gondwana Records) on alto saxophone, Mick Bardon on cello, and vocals from Jamaican-born, Sheffield-based hip-hop and afro-fusion artist Franz Von.