#richard belkner

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Lilliputian by Tangents b/w Ossicles

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The Vampires - Nightjar - dub-flavored soul-jazz, though a few tracks sound like The Necks (which is to be expected as that group's keyboardist Chris Abrahams is on here)

Twenty years ago, composers on Nightjar, Jeremy Rose and Nick Garbett were surfers, housemates, bandmates. A surfer vibe infuses their music: being at ease and alert, sitting in the swell of a magnificent immense natural force, until the wave comes. Ride it as gracefully and as far as possible. The Vampires have been hot-housed in Sydney. Expanses get in our bloodstream, they are visceral. It’s in the music. Think of the 35 year long reverberations of The Necks. The Vampires grew into their own music listening intently to The Necks. Individual members of The Vampires play with individual Necks: Tony Buck on Nick Garbett’s 2019 The Glider; and Lloyd Swanton with Jeremy Rose and Hamed Sadeghi in the improvising trio Vazesh. Chris Abrahams was a compelling collaborator to make music with – which is now Nightjar. The Vampires, here in lush vamping form, meet the singular acute bright and tender touch of Chris Abrahams. Jeremy Rose tenor sax, bass clarinet Nick Garbett trumpet Noel Mason bass Alex Masso drums Chris Abrahams piano, organ, prophet, super 6, quantum, rhodes artwork: Mia Taninaka layout: Pat Harris Recorded 22-23 November 2021 at Free Energy Device by Richard Belkner. Mixed by Richard Belkner. Mastered by Michael Lynch Together since 2005, The Vampires have forged their sound from their travels and musical lives in jazz, improvisation free-diving and the vibrant cultural bleed of bands driven by Caribbean, Persian, Indian, South Korean, West African and Latin beats. The compositions have always been postcards to other Vampires from wherever they were, but have gradually shifted from the early jazz soloing into longer stretches building texture and tone, buoyed on irresistible riffs. Nightjar is The Vampires 7th album, following 2019 Pacifica and 2017 The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke. It gives a clear nod to a cherished inheritance. The horn refrain opening Track 2 Khan Shatyr quotes The Necks’ The World at War on their 2nd album Next 1990.

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Vessel by Tangents from the album Timeslips

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The Three Seas - Afterlife

The third album from Australian-Indian group The Three Seas, Afterlife, reveals a new direction, bringing together influences from funk, dub and pop, whilst being uplifted by the majestic spirit of Baul and Himalayan-folk traditions. Led by saxophonist-composer Matt Keegan, the West Bengali-Sydney collective showcases North Indian folk artists interacting with synthesisers, samplers, dub effects, layers of strings and funk-laiden baritone saxophone. An energetic alchemy that radiates joy all the while pondering existential questions about life and the great beyond. The nine-track album features the band’s distinctive mix of Bengali-folk, jazz and rock but heralds a new chapter in their thirteen year collaboration. Afterlife was inspired and created using samples and loops taken from the bands previous two albums Haveli (2013) and Fathers, Sons & Brothers (2018). Keegan prepared a pre-recorded underscore to establish tempos, moods and key centres. In this way the international ensemble could take advantage of the limited rehearsal and studio time available to them during their India/Australia tour in 2018. Sydney based drummers Declan Kelly and Finn Ryan were also initially invited to contribute beats to underpin the pre-production process. The music came to life when Raju Das, Gaurab Chatterjee and Deo Ashis Mothey overdubbed their folk melodies, poetry, vocals, rhythms and improvisations in focussed sessions at Free Energy Device studios, Sydney. Co-producer Richard Belkner created an arresting electro-acoustic sound world. The Three Seas has been described as a "beguiling tapestry of jazz, rock and Indian folk music" (The Age) and their original music as “astonishingly beautiful and powerful” (Kryztoff RAW). They have established themselves at the forefront of contemporary intercultural music with their distinctive mix of progressive Bengali-Nepali-folk-jazz-rock.

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Old Organs by Tangents from the free Temporary Residence Ltd. 2020 sampler

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Tangents - New Bodies (Temporary Residence)

After an eventful year of touring throughout their native Australia – including runs with labelmates MONO and like- minded pioneers Tortoise – and featuring alongside the work of artist David Hockney at the National Gallery of Victoria, post-everything quintet Tangents return with another album, and another stylistic detour. New Bodies continues Tangents’ rummage through countless varieties of electronics, rock, dub, noise, and free improv jazz that defines the group’s acclaimed aesthetic. The spacious dub of a plucked cello gives way to a minimalist breakbeat tableau resting over rhythmic prepared piano; a staid electronic groove is gradually absorbed into washes of frenzied improv; staccato synths are woven into tumbling avant-rock; and shimmering free drums phase over static loops of piano, guitar and cello. To quote FACT Magazine, “The quintet are so comfortable working with jazz, folk music, post-rock and electronic music that it comfortably hangs in a space between them all.” On New Bodies, that description rings more intuitive and authentic than ever.

Recorded + mixed by Richard Belkner at Free Energy Device Studios Mastered by Casey Rice Artwork by Britt Hatzius