John Parry, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album Review: Hana Stretton – ‘tiarn’: An ambient folk moment that needs to be cherished.

Solitude is essential for Australian folk composer and sound collector Hana Stretton. Her debut, 2023’s, the shimmering ‘Soon’, was written during an extended stay watching over her much-missed Grandmother’s New…

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Album Review: Loma Suyo –‘Paloma’ : Latin infused folktronica which brings guaranteed refreshment and a warm glow.

Having crossed paths for a decade, Philly musicians Liz Fullerton and Ish Quintero finally committed to working together as Loma Suyo in 2019. Enticed by the possibilities of merging Fullerton’s…

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Album Review: Jad Atoui – ‘It Will Take Forever’: A challenging merger of electronics, noise and ambience from the Lebanese sound sculptor.

Beirut -based audio-artist Jad Atoui’s ‘It Will Take Forever’ takes you on a journey into the depths of sound. Experimental electronic music with the listener key to the experiment, it’s…

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Album Review: Akusmi – ‘Terra Incognita’: A lush sonic expedition into exotic rhythms and sultry sax melodies.

London based multi-instrumentalist and composer Pascal Bideau a.k.a Akusmi returns with his third Tonal Union album and if you’re a follower you’ll understand it’s not exactly going to be more…

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Album Review: Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band – ‘The New Atomic’: Full powered punk jazz dynamism that refuses to follow the script.

Why is Big Band jazz a proposition that many swerve? Is it seen as too close to trad, too much of a historically significant relic. In truth the Big Band…

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Album Review: Scrimshire – ‘Bring Our Light To Every Corner’: The multi-instrumentalist and friends deliver a soulful, sensitive Spiritual Jazz message.

This feels like an album that Adam Scrimshire, producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist has been edging towards for some time now. After the politically-charged ‘Paroxysm‘ in 2022 and the gently introspective…

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Album Review: Orbital Ensemble – ‘Contínua’: A daring fusion of rock, jazz and nu-samba which expands convention.

If last year’s Orbital Ensemble debut was the prelude to the collective’s live-incarnation then ‘Contínua’, its follow up, is very much the main event. It’s an explosive, full bodied realisation…

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Album Review : Blue Earth Sound – ‘The St.Louis Sessions’: Keeping their cinematic soul-jazz fresh and funky.

Blue Earth Sound, a shifting collective which revolves around composer/multi-instrumentalist James Weir, produced one of last year’s surprise album’s ‘Cicero Nights’. It gave Cinematic Jazz a fresh complexion, ruffling the…

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Album Review: Column of Trout/ Partager – ‘Split/Lop’: A fulsome bundle of slow-core and avant-pop that dares to brush with convention.

Here’s the latest release from the ever-resourceful Lewes label Difficult Art and Music, the first in a series of what they describe as a deep dive into “the weirder side…

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Album Review: Beefheart & McQuinn – ‘Midtown Downtime’: Summery sounds and simmering sadness from the indie folk duo.

Taking a break from the indie band merry-go round, singer-songwriters Moby Beefheart and Winter McQuinn release their “quiet is the new loud” debut ‘Midtown Downtime’ on We Are Busy Bodies.…

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