SNORKEL
Stop Machine
SLOLP015
Slowfoot 2011
08 Tracks. 41mins17secs
Amazon UK: LP | DLD US: LP | DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD
Under the lead of drummer Frank Byng, South East London’s Snorkel happily veer from krautrock, free jazz and improvisation to dub, post rock and funk without ever really settling on any particular genre for very long. This was what fueled Glass Darkly, released three years ago, but, although this was their first album, the band have actually been performing live for over ten years. The band, originally set up to explore the possibilities of improvised music, was partly modeled on the likes of Can or Soft Machine, but the scope has since widened quite drastically.
A band with no fixed line-up, Snorkel was, for the recording, formed of Byng, the only recurring member, plus Ben Cowen, Charles Stuart, Tom Marriott, and 129, with additional contribution from Slowfoot label head Robert Logan, Ralph Cumbers (Bass Clef), Lucas Suarez and Luke Wills. The album is, like its predecessor, the fruit of improvised sessions, but this on occasions tempered by a more structured compositional approach. Continue Reading »