Following ace gigs by BADBADNOTGOOD, Dawn Of Midi and Jojo Mayer/NERVE, we have another nu jazz genre-crossing specialty in store! With their fresh piano/double bass/drum groove, the Manchester-based penguin trio have been shaking the jazz (by signing with the legendary Blue Note Records) and indie worlds (by landing a Mercury prize nomination) alike and their
Following ace gigs by BADBADNOTGOOD, Dawn Of Midi and Jojo Mayer/NERVE, we have another nu jazz genre-crossing specialty in store! With their fresh piano/double bass/drum groove, the Manchester-based penguin trio have been shaking the jazz (by signing with the legendary Blue Note Records) and indie worlds (by landing a Mercury prize nomination) alike and their soundquake has been spreading to our parts just at the right time!
Hailing from Manchester, UK, acoustic-electronica trio GoGo Penguin are pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka and drummer Rob Turner. Drawing on a heady brew of influences from Brian Eno, John Cage, Massive Attack and Aphex Twin to Manchester’s grey rain-streaked urban streets they create a brave new sound all their own. Defined by skittering break-beats, powerful sub-bass, telepathic interplay and a penchant for anthemic melody they create an emotionally rich palate for the listener that has seen them hailed as the most exciting new band to emerge from the UK in years.
Their album V2.0 (Gondwana records) was named a Mercury Prize album of the year 2014 alongside albums from Damon Albarn, Young Fathers and Jungle and has won them a legion of fans across the world. In April 2015 they announced signing a three album deal with Blue Note Records and tonight’s show will feature material from their Blue Note debut album Man Made Object which will be released worldwide on 5th February 2016.
GoGo Penguin have strong ties with Manchester’s jazz scene – their first two albums were released through their friend Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Records, while Rob and Nick both cut their teeth playing at the intimate Matt & Phred’s jazz venue in the Northern Quarter, Chris meanwhile studied classical music at the Royal Northern College of Music, but they also have links to the city’s broader cultural life. Their rehearsal space is in Wellington House in Ancoats, a former fabric mill with units that are rented out by hundreds of artists and designers (including art rockers and fellow Mercury nominees Everything Everything).
The band have also headlined at the city’s more eccentric club nights, like the Soup Kitchen, Antwerp Mansion in Rusholme and Norvun Devolution at the late, lamented Roadhouse. Bassist Nick even puts on an occasional club night himself at the Klondyke, an old bowling club in Levenshulme, which might feature DJs, eccentric rock acts and contemporary classical composition.
Man Made Object is the band’s first recording in a prestigious three-album deal with Blue Note. It puts them in a tiny elite of Brits – one that includes Stan Tracey, Andy Sheppard, Orphy Robinson, Us3 and Van Morrison – to have signed to the world’s greatest jazz labels. Not that GoGo Penguin consider themselves a jazz band in the truest sense.
Trombonist, composer and producer Žiga Murko is an extremely active representative of the younger generation of Slovenian jazz scene. After his performance at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival 2012 with Ziga Murko 13 band he has successfully developed a new forms of electronics and underground hip-hop productions. He has a specific, very futuristic sound, while seeking to hear the nostalgic effect of cheap semplers, casette players and VHS VCRs. He is interested in improvisation practice, creative risks and implication of modern electronic instrumentalization. His work has convinced many foreign publishers, including Burnt tapes and Acorn tapes and Slovenian rx: tx.
