" the sense is jazz and neo funk colliding filtered through dark leans of orchestral pop"
The percussive twisting surreal storm and morning glow of "Scruples" by London based Sudden Voices, the hybridic music project of Ben Morris (previously in Union Wireless, a London-based post-experimental\indie-rock band whose ever-changing line-up evolved throughout the nineties), is a moody constantly transforming piece of art. With rattling percussive undercurrents, snaking bass lines that seen to be pushing away to the perimeter of things as drones / swells of horns create tensions and xylophonic tones create detective noir and soft respites, the sense is jazz and neo funk colliding filtered through dark leans of orchestral pop. The sound, to me, feels very filmic and
"Scruples" (the title track of Sudden Voices' third album) is one of those songs that reveal more of itself upon repeated listens. The sound feels very filmic and I am feeling an amalgam of the 70's film scores of British jazz pianist / composer Roy Budd, 80's Tangerine Dream scores and 90's film scores of Marc Shaiman (or thereabouts). You may think of other sonic touchstones. In any event, a lot to love here.
LINER NOTES (excerpted):
[Sudden Voices' music is based around a warm, organic psychedelia, where chanted vocals fight for attention with repetitive grooves and acoustic instruments. The songs are written through improvisation giving the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence.
Songs are written through improvisation, helping to give the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence. Influences range from the metronomic groove of krautrock, through to the space jazz of "Bitches Brew", via a clear fondness for Talk Talk and The Fall. The results are shot through with a DIY work ethic and low-fi sensibility, as well as an ear for a good tune.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/suddenvoices/
https://www.suddenvoices.com/
https://suddenvoices.bandcamp.com/album/scruples
Sudden Voices is a project led by Ben Morris, who previously served time in Union Wireless, a London-based post\experimental\indie-rock band whose ever-changing line-up evolved throughout the nineties.
A couple of albums were recorded, the first at London's renowned analogue paradise Toe Rag Studios, the second with Toby Robinson (CAN, Derek Bailey, etc). Both albums were released on Elefant Records, kindly reviewed in the music press of the day, and maybe even listened to by a few people. It was hard to tell back then.
By the early 2000s real life intervened and they had gone their separate ways, some to musical destinations as diverse as noise poetry-mongers Map 71 and folk-rock unit-shifters Bellowhead, others to "proper jobs" and overwhelmed parenthood. Ben didn't completely abandon music during the intervening years, allowing Sudden Voices arrived fully formed with a clear identity.
Sudden Voices' music is based around a warm, organic psychedelia, where chanted vocals fight for attention with repetitive grooves and acoustic instruments. The songs are written through improvisation giving the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence.
Songs are written through improvisation, helping to give the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence. Influences range from the metronomic groove of krautrock, through to the space jazz of "Bitches Brew", via a clear fondness for Talk Talk and The Fall. The results are shot through with a DIY work ethic and low-fi sensibility, as well as an ear for a good tune.
A debut album emerged in the Spring of 2023. Bandcamp said it was "a fascinating mash-up of jazz sensibility with Krautrock motorik on an album that mesmerizes with repetition", while the kind people over at Organ Thing described the album as a "delight". A second album built on the debut, adding a richer palette of instruments and more complex arrangements to the mix. A third album is due and combines strings, mallets, reeds, keys, and drones to create a set of sound collages that rise and fall around polyrhythms and grooves.
Post-rock, post-psychedelic, post something-or-other.
Sudden Voices, Ben Morris, post rock, krautrock, hybrid rock, blendo rock, jazz, neo funk, krautrock, composer, arranger, musician, collaborator, surreal, psychedelic, filmic, "Scruples" (Official Video), third album "Scruples",
Sudden Voices is a project led by Ben Morris, who previously served time in Union Wireless, a London-based post\experimental\indie-rock band whose ever-changing line-up evolved throughout the nineties.
A couple of albums were recorded, the first at London's renowned analogue paradise Toe Rag Studios, the second with Toby Robinson (CAN, Derek Bailey, etc). Both albums were released on Elefant Records, kindly reviewed in the music press of the day, and maybe even listened to by a few people. It was hard to tell back then.
By the early 2000s real life intervened and they had gone their separate ways, some to musical destinations as diverse as noise poetry-mongers Map 71 and folk-rock unit-shifters Bellowhead, others to "proper jobs" and overwhelmed parenthood. Ben didn't completely abandon music during the intervening years, allowing Sudden Voices arrived fully formed with a clear identity.
Sudden Voices' music is based around a warm, organic psychedelia, where chanted vocals fight for attention with repetitive grooves and acoustic instruments. The songs are written through improvisation giving the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence.
Songs are written through improvisation, helping to give the songs an experimental feel without sacrificing a melodic edge or sense of coherence. Influences range from the metronomic groove of krautrock, through to the space jazz of "Bitches Brew", via a clear fondness for Talk Talk and The Fall. The results are shot through with a DIY work ethic and low-fi sensibility, as well as an ear for a good tune.
A debut album emerged in the Spring of 2023. Bandcamp said it was "a fascinating mash-up of jazz sensibility with Krautrock motorik on an album that mesmerizes with repetition", while the kind people over at Organ Thing described the album as a "delight". A second album built on the debut, adding a richer palette of instruments and more complex arrangements to the mix. A third album is due and combines strings, mallets, reeds, keys, and drones to create a set of sound collages that rise and fall around polyrhythms and grooves.
Post-rock, post-psychedelic, post something-or-other.
Sudden Voices, Ben Morris, post rock, krautrock, hybrid rock, blendo rock, jazz, neo funk, krautrock, composer, arranger, musician, collaborator, surreal, psychedelic, filmic, "Scruples" (Official Video), third album "Scruples",
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