Craig Scott’s Lobotomy – “Technicolour Yawn” single review

A brief glance over the influences at work here will have left field music devotees salivating to hear more; Aphex Twin, Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa, Debussy, Derek Bailey, John Zorn, Thelonious Monk and Meshuggah. Craig Scott is a Leeds based improviser/composer/guitarist and affiliate of Ikestra and Shatner’s Bassoon. With a CV like that the music here cannot fail to spark interest, and thankfully it does just that. “Technicolour Yawn” teases the listener with a fairly straightforward broken beat opening before turning the music inside out and manipulating the sound using fragments of electronic dissonance woven together with more “traditional” sounding jazz and classical chamber instrumentation. As Craig himself explains,

“The initial idea of the project was invert the relationship of
composition and improvisation in my music, instead of the composition
informing the improvisation, freely improvised material was recorded and
then manipulated and re-composed...”

The above description may cause the casual listener alarm, but the end result is by no means incongruous. The tune meanders amicably over its duration and should please lovers of experimental music and circuit bending alike. The project as a whole is a fascinating deconstruction of the relationship between composer and improviser and demands four minutes of your time. 

Craig Scott website

Bandcamp page

Ikestra - "Ikestra" on Destroy All Records review

According to the bands’ Bandcamp page Ikestra “...is seven musicians making one sound for all people”, and from the first run through of the tracks on their self titled debut release, one can see how that bold claim can actually hold some truth. Ikestra are a Leeds based collective, originally formed in 2010, featuring Sam Bell on percussion, Sam Gardner on drums, Henry Guy on bass, Joe Harris and Craig Scott on guitars, Tom Henry on keyboards and Anna Stott on vocals. The opening phrases of “Dan Y Coed” leave one wondering where the band are transporting us, at any moment the music could lock down into a jazz funk groove, or hover gently over a bed of warm electronics. Will the next phrase reveal that “Ikestra” is in fact an angular, disconcerting experience, or will we be reminded of Miles Davis throwing the traditional vanguard off the scent with “In a Silent Way” or “Bitches Brew”? “Ikestra” is, it seems, all of these elements fused together to produce a set of tunes that will please devotees of straight ahead funk, post punk, trip hop and soul, with just about any other genre that can be brought to mind. The single release from the album “Sprinter” has the liveliness and zeal that one may expect from a representative release, with a subtle change of tempo and pace to keep the most experimental of music fan contented.  “JSA” is an instrumental that takes the listener through a gallery of previous influences whilst sprinkling a little dissension and repetition that any fan of the Krautrock sound will be more than happy to listen to.

Momentum is reined in with “Endure” featuring luxurious vocals over instrumentation which is almost devotional in nature, whilst simultaneously drawing the listener along on cyclical electronic phrases. “Mistakes” is infused with the spirit of a smoky late night bar, whilst at the same time, to these ears, bringing to mind an afro beat composition/improvisation. By the time the last track “Lessons” is due, the listener may believe they have become familiar with what Ikestra as a unit are about. This final piece however is an almost free form psychedelic workout broken only by the occasional calm or change in tempo to ease the listener prior to the next barrage of what can only be described as practically “progressive rock” chord progressions. A ride of many experiences and sensations crafted together to produce a coherent album. The band’s name apparently relates to the “oneness” symbolised in the “I” and is an acknowledgement to Sun Ra and his Arkestra. With a name such as Sun Ra in the mix too, it would be wise to investigate Ikestra with an open mind and the expectation of something that is indeed “for all people”.