New Hymn To Freedom

Sometimes in improvised music there can be a distance between listener and players, a sense youre sitting back and admiring their interplay and abstraction but with Szun Waves second album, youre right in there with them, inside the playing, experiencing the absolute joy the three musicians feel as they circle around each other, exploring the spaces theyve opened up. The three members already have sparkling pedigrees of their own. Norfolks 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. The trios musical relationship has grown naturally and steadily, and it shows. From Wyllie adding shimmering sustained sax notes to Abbotts 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, and now theyre 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 couldnt be more apt.