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Weapons Of Jazz Destruction follows on in the same vein from previous releases from both Nostalgia 77 and the Nostalgia 77 Octet. But shows a slight lunge back to his earlier, darker moments of musical style. such as ‘To Have Or To Be?’ or ‘When Love Is Strange’ giving a subtly dark, swirling, outer-worldly twist on this prodigious blend of traditional. progressive and Nu-Jazz. Ben has employed the services of two new artists on the album, Nick Smalley who provides an extra percussive input and the vocal talents of Sophie Smith who appears on ‘Stars’, ‘To Have Or To Be?’ and ‘One Step Out’.
Musically the album fluidly transcends between the bright, euphoniously mellow into dynamic, expressive, symphonious melodies whilst then fluttering back to a more calm and timid style in other movements. The dynamics and range of power and song structure throughout the album seems to tell a story, taking the listener on an aural adventure of musical tales and woes. This combined with the definitive groove element found with in the arrangements, not too far away from the funk or world music scene, makes for an intensely diverse and intriguing listen, grabbing you by the ears and demanding your aural attention.
The album still embraces and embodies the atmosphere, vibe and jazz consciousness of the classic Jazz LP’s from the 60’s and 70’s, Ben used a lot of old recording gear from the 60’s and 70’s to capture that raw, vibrant sound. This is beautifully juxtaposed against the sought after bass and fidelity of modern production techniques. As Ben himself alluringly states, "its jazz - but not as we know it".
The enthralling title of ‘Weapons Of Jazz Destruction’ gives a fairly ominous, intriguing outward perception of is to be expected from the listener but there is no fear of The Nostalgia 77 Octet becoming the ‘Sex Pistols’ of the Jazz scene just the pure, pioneering Jazz maestros they have proven themselves to be, delivering yet another outstanding piece of Jazz exquisiteness.
With the Octet album being directed to the straight up Jazz Heads Tru Thoughts will be continuing to promote the Nostalgia 77 album 'Everything Under The Sun' ,which has picked up a wide amount of praise, with a 12" single release of 'Wildflower' remixed by Povo and 'Quiet Dawn' remixed by Bonobo later this year.
Tracks
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