If Ben Davis’s classical-meets-jazz ensemble, Basquiat Strings, has been deservedly monopolising the praise lately, Barak Schmool and co can claim to have been the driving force behind the London-based FIRE collective. Their latest finds them plunging into an uncompromising exploration of the Afro-Cuban religious rituals known as santeria. Davis briefly appears in a sprawling lineup, in which the interlocking guitar, percussion and vocal patterns sometimes evoke the heady experimentation of Steve Coleman’s M-Base. As with those Americans, some wilful long-windedness comes with the territory.
FIRE F-IRECD-17
|
Top of Page
