New Signing: Szun Waves

We’re delighted to be booking for Szun Waves, a three piece improvisational Jazz trio featuring Luke Abbot, Jack Whylie & Laurence Pike.

For booking information, head to their page here: https://diplomatsofsound.org/artist/szun-waves/

Or for more information on availability contact Sam@diplomatsofsound.org

The  three  members  already  have  sparkling  pedigrees  of  their  own. Norfolk’s  Luke  Abbott  is  well  known  for  his  explorations  of  the zones  between  pure  ambience  and  the  leftmost  fringes  of  club culture.  With  Portico  Quartet and  Circle  Traps,  Jack  Wyllie  has  been in  the  vanguard  of  UK  fusions  of  jazz,  classical  and  club  music. Australian  drummer  Laurence  Pike  has  likewise  found  a  unique  voice in improvised  and  experimental  music-making,  whether  in  the  bands  Triosk or  PVT,  or  as  a  solo  artist  (his  debut  album  Distant  Early  Warning was  released  in  March  2018).

The  trio’s  musical  relationship  has  grown  naturally  and  steadily,  and it  shows.  From  Wyllie  adding  shimmering  sustained  sax  notes  to Abbott’s  gorgeous  ambient  pieces  in  2013,  Szun  Waves  emerged  when Pike  was  added  to  the  mix,  energising  the  sound  but  still  keeping its levitational  qualities.  Their  2016  self-released  debut  album  hit  a natural  groove  –  it  was  a  “proof  of  concept”  as  Abbott  says  – and now  they’re  in  a  place  of  pure  spontaneity:  New  Hymn  To Freedom  is a document  of  six  entirely  live  improvisations  –“no edits or  overdubs”– and  its  title  couldn’t  be  more  apt.

In  some  senses  this  is  jazz,  and  in  its  ripples,  sparkles  and  waves of rhythm  will  certainly  chime  with  anyone  turned  on  by  Don  Cherry, Alice  Coltrane  or  Sun  Ra.  But  just  as  much  it’s  in  the  British electronic  tradition  of  artists  like  James  Holden  (in  whose  studio  the first  album  was  recorded),  Four  Tet  and  Nathan  Fake  that  Abbott has emerged  from  –  only  now  instead  of  his  synths  echoing  Norfolk’s wide open  pastoral  landscapes,  they’re  depicting  altogether  more  celestial vistas.  Indeed,  the  drifting  ecstasies  of  this  record  take  you  to dimensions  that  only  the  most  genre-free  musicians  can  reach:  you might  hear  hints  of  Can,  Ryuichi  Sakamoto  or  even  Liars.

But  really,  this  isn’t  the  sound  of  any  influence  other  than  the influence  the  three  players  are  having  on  each  other,  and  how  happy that  makes  them.  “It  still  feels  to  me  like  a  mystical  adventure when  we  play, ”says  Abbott,  “but  there’s  a  musical  language  developing between  us,  we’re  starting  to  make  more  sense  together.”