Following last week’s dig into the archives, I thought it was high time I told you what the hell I’ve been up to all this time. Well, firstly I moved from Glasgow to Newcastle, so inevitably I’ve been wondering whether the original Scottish underground and experimental remit of Ion Engine was still appropriate. I’ll continue to champion the good stuff from the land of haggis and creative wind, as Mats Gustafsson puts it, but I’ll be casting my net more widely. Much of my time this past year has been taken up with teaching and promotion/communications work with Jazz North East and Jazz Promotion Network. But I’ve continued to write regular features and reviews for Wire, Bandcamp Daily, We Jazz and The List, while also producing Jazz Police for Repeater Radio. Here’s a round up.
The Grand Unified Theory: Tyshawn Sorey
It was a great honour to interview the genius that is Tyshawn Sorey for my first Wire cover feature. Sorey is an artist I’ve been following for several years and his boundary breaking work is a true inspiration. From the ritualistic drone and volcanic improvisation of Pillars to the masterclass in 21st straight ahead jazz that is Mesmerism, Sorey really can do it all. I spoke to him about growing up in Newark, coming up through the New York jazz scene, writing for orchestras and operatic singers, and how he shapes diverse influences into a unified voice. The same issue also has my reviews of a fantastic new album from Vicente Hansen Atria and an avant-bagpipes extravaganza at Piping Live! with Matthew Welch’s Blarvuster and Malin Makes Music.
Jazz Police on Repeater Radio
Jazz Police returns to Repeater Radio on Thursday 13 October at 7pm, following a month’s break. In the meantime, here’s the August show. Two hours of amazing music beyond category!
Two recent pieces for Bandcamp Daily
The Drone Abides: Bagpipes In Experimental Music
Album of the Day: Makaya McCraven
We Jazz
I’ve also had the pleasure of contributing to the magazine from Finnish shop/label/festival We Jazz. The current issue has full page reviews of the recent Blue Notes reissues and Pat Thomas’s great lost 1997 jungle album, while earlier editions have my review of Wadada Leo Smith’s stunning Chicago Symphonies and Scottish free improvisation label Scatter. You’ll have to buy a copy to read them, but this fine magazine is well worth it.
A collective squat thrust of feral imagining
For The List, I spoke to Fritz Welch, Firas Khnaisser and Ali Robertson, Alistair Quietsch and Rafe Fitzpatrick, Jer Reid and The Democratic People’s Republic of Noise about Glasgow and Edinburgh’s post-covid experimental scene and the new and continuing events keeping the Central Belt weird.