GoGo Penguin | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Experimental jazz piano trio GoGo Penguin were formed in Manchester, England in 2012 by pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka, and drummer Rob Turner. Mixing melodic landscapes with dynamic skittering beats and electronic elements, the band creates a heady blend that owes as much to Massive Attack and Brian Eno as to traditional jazz or classical. They released a pair of albums on the Gondwana label, announcing themselves with 2012s Fanfares, then expanding their sonic scope with 2014s v2.0, the latter of which earned them a Mercury Prize nomination. In early 2015, they struck a deal with Blue Note Records and began recording their third LP. The album -- titled Man Made Object -- arrived in early 2016. The groups second effort for the label -- A Humdrum Star -- was released in February 2018. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 5 Title: Fanfares Released: 2012-11-19 Tracks: 7 Duration: 35:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Seven Sons of Björn (05:17) 2 Last Words (03:05) 3 Unconditional (05:15) 4 Fanfares (04:53) 5 I Am That (04:05) 6 Akasthesia (06:01) 7 HF (06:36) |
 | Album: 2 of 5 Title: v2.0 Released: 2014-03-17 Tracks: 10 Duration: 47:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Murmuration (04:12) 2 Garden Dog Barbecue (03:44) 3 Kamaloka (05:20) 4 Fort (03:17) 5 One Percent (05:35) 6 Home (05:21) 7 The Letter (06:13) 8 To Drown in You (06:28) 9 Shock and Awe (03:13) 10 Hopopono (03:54) |
 | Album: 3 of 5 Title: Man Made Object Released: 2016-01-27 Tracks: 11 Duration: 52:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 All Res (05:15) 2 Unspeakable World (04:43) 3 Branches Break (04:22) 4 Weird Cat (05:39) 5 Quiet Mind (04:23) 6 Smarra (06:31) 1 Initiate (04:47) 2 GBFISYSIH (03:21) 3 Surrender to Mountain (03:58) 4 Protest (04:45) 5 Fading : Feigning (05:04) |
| Man Made Object : Allmusic album Review : Coming off their sophomore effort, 2014s Barclaycard Mercury Prize-shortlisted V2.0, GoGo Penguin return with their equally ambitious 2016 follow-up, Man Made Object. A jazz trio at their core, Britains GoGo Penguin have garnered well-earned plaudits for their distinctive, genre-bending sound that combines elements of forward-thinking post-bop with stylistic elements borrowed from indie rock and electronic dance music -- all without the aid of any actual electronic instrumentation. Showcased in GoGo Penguin are the talents of pianist Chris Illingworth, bassist Nick Blacka, and drummer Rob Turner. Together on Man Made Object, they perform wholly original compositions that straddle the line between group improvisations and well-constructed thematic compositions. Cuts like "All Res," "Branches Break," and the driving, punky "Smarra," all have the signifiers of jazz (sophisticated harmonies, kinetic rhythms, and an introverted, exploratory energy), but play out more like an adventurous Radiohead track, or the soundtrack music to a 70s heist film. The results bring to mind the work of similarly inclined artists like pianist Brad Mehldau and groups like the Bad Plus and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Theres also a ruminative, impressionistic vibe running through much of the material on Man Made Object that positions GoGo Penguin at the vanguard of the new British jazz movement alongside the likes of trumpeter Matthew Halsall and bassist Jasper Hoibys trio Phronesis. Comparisons aside, what sets GoGo Penguin apart from their contemporaries is their inventive group interplay and knack for dramatic arranging. Often, Illingworth will set up a pattern on piano, like the spritely, dancing intro to "Unspeakable Word," and Blacka and Turner will join in, answering his pattern with their own contrapuntal footwork. Just as you think the trio are going to lock up legs and topple over, they fall into a gorgeous minor-key stride and dissipate into a sweepingly ominous mid-song bass solo. Ultimately, its these moments of dazzling group dynamics that help make Man Made Object a jazz-infused work of art on GoGo Penguins own terms. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 5 Title: Live at Abbey Road Released: 2016-04-16 Tracks: 4 Duration: 18:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Branches Break (04:14) 2 GBFISYSIH (03:11) 3 Initiate (05:15) 4 Ocean in a Drop (05:20) |
 | Album: 5 of 5 Title: A Humdrum Star Released: 2018-02-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 50:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Prayer (02:54) 2 Raven (04:57) 3 Bardo (07:14) 4 A Hundred Moons (04:27) 5 Strid (08:10) 6 Transient State (05:59) 7 Return to Text (05:22) 8 Reactor (06:17) 9 Window (05:21) |
| A Humdrum Star : Allmusic album Review : Go Go Penguins genre-bending, EDM-influenced brand of jazz has earned the Manchester-based trio plaudits, including being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize in 2014. The bands fourth studio album, and second for Blue Note, 2018s atmospheric A Humdrum Star, finds them delving even deeper into an electronic-influenced sound that favors texture and mood over standards or jazz-based elements. Once again featured are bassist Nick Blacka, pianist Chris Illingworth, and drummer Rob Turner. Working with producers Joe Reiser and Brendan Williams, the trio offers a set of original compositions rife with skittering breakbeats, roiling piano melodies, and warm acoustic bass grooves. Its a style that seems informed as much by the computer-based production of Four Tet, and Amon Tobin as the hypnotic classical compositions of Philip Glass and the 70s jazz of Keith Jarrett. To achieve this cross-pollinated aesthetic, the band purportedly balance their compositional process between writing songs on their instruments and utilizing electronic production programs that they then translate to live instrumentation. As a result, these songs have the wave-like flow of electronic dance tracks but with the expansive, acoustic atmosphere of classic ECM recordings. | ||